10 football superstars that were rejected as youngsters

#3 Lionel Messi

Valencia CF v FC Barcelona - La Liga

Messi's name is rarely included in a sentence without many superlatives around it. As in the case of Griezmann, the Argentinian prodigy was told that he was too small to play football professionally.

According to reports, at the age of 8, River Plate decided that the £500-a-month cost of hormones that the youngster needed was not a sum that could be justified and as a result, he remained at his beloved Newell's Old Boys. 2 years later, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency and his father's health insurance could only cover a part of Lionel's expensive hormone treatment.

A few years later, Barcelona agreed to pay his health bills and in 2000, Messi became a member of La Masia. He is now considered one of the two greatest players in our generation and one of the best ever.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo during his spell at Sporting Lisbon

Arsene Wenger stated that missing out on Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003 was his biggest transfer regret at Arsenal. The Gunners were reportedly the first to be attracted by the talented then Sporting Lisbon player and invited him to their training center at the age of 15. However, the deal fell through due to the fact Arsenal did not have the funds to meet the asking price.

A few months later, Manchester United secured the services of the player.

"My biggest regret? I was so close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo, and not only did I not get him, he signed for Manchester United. So that of course still hurts today," Wenger revealed during an interview in 2014.

The Gunners were not the only English club that snubbed the Portuguese. Liverpool were the pioneers. Gerard Houllier, who managed the club from 1998 to 2004, admitted that he saw Ronaldo during an Under 21 tournament in 2003, some negotiations took place but the deal ultimately fell through due to wage demands.

"I saw him in the Toulon Under 21 tournament and we went for him. But we had a wage scale and we weren't paying the sort of salary he wanted. Maybe we would have won the title with Ronaldo, but we had Harry Kewell, who was outstanding at the time and was very hungry but got a bad injury," Houllier said in an interview.

"I agreed with not breaking the wage structure. I thought it would cause problems in our dressing room. We would have had anarchy if the other players had found out how much we were considering paying for an 18-year-old kid," Phil Thompson, Houllier's assistant added.