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Former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti explained the club's decision to squander the oppotunity to sign Barcelona legend Lionel Messi while he was still at the Camp Nou.
Messi, 37, is now at Inter Miami in the US, having joined the MLS side on a free transfer in the summer of 2023. Before that, he spent two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain following a prolific 17-season spell with the Blaugrana, where he scored goals and won silverware and individual honours galore.
It has been more than a decade (2013) since Moratti sold the club. The Italian recalled in an interview with Corriere della Sera (via Tribal Football) that the Nerazzurri could have signed Messi but for his health issues back in the day.
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"We followed him during the U18 World Cup," Moratti said. "We were about to buy him, but when I heard what Barcelona did for his health problems, I let it go, I swear."
The record eight-time Ballon d'Or winner suffered from growth hormone deficiency in his early years. But Barca agreed to pay for his expensive treatment and signed him more than two decades ago, when Messi was a 13-year-old. The rest, as they say, is history.
Lionel Messi's Barcelona career by the numbers
Lionel Messi spent a hugely successful near two-decade senior career with Barcelona. Since his first-team debut in 2004, the 37-year-old amassed 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 games across competitions, all three being record tallies for the club.
Messi won a record 10 La Liga and four UEFA Champions League titles with the club, including two as part of continental trebles, the latest of them coming in the 2014-15 season.
Out of his record tally of 45 titles for club and country, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner won 35 of them at Barca. He has won two with his current side Inter Miami, having won four titles with his international team, Argentina, including back-to-back Copa America honours.
