Imagine if Messi had ended up at one of THESE clubs?!

Lionel Messi's career could have looked very different if he had signed for one of the these clubs

Transcript

00:00Lionel Messi almost signed for three clubs other than Barcelona.

00:03River Plate, Espanyol and Inter Milan and the stories are insane.

00:07And you wouldn't actually believe how close this got.

00:09Back in 2000 a little boy from Rosario was playing in Argentina.

00:13River Plate decided to try and sign him.

00:15Messi at the time was very small.

00:16He needed growth hormones to be able to compete at the top level.

00:19But that was $900 a month and River Plate simply couldn't afford to pay it.

00:23Barcelona stepped in, paid the fee and signed him on a napkin.

00:26The rest as they say is football history.

00:28Fast forward to 2005.

00:30Messi is now 18 years old.

00:32And Espanyol tried to sign him on loan.

00:34And in fact Maurizio Pochettino even confirmed this.

00:37He said it was very close.

00:38But Barcelona were impressed with him in a trophy.

00:40And decided to keep him at the club.

00:42So Espanyol could have had the go.

00:44That's insane.

00:45Now 2006 comes around and Lionel Messi is one of the great players in the world.

00:49Inter Milan try and sign him as well.

00:51And former Barca president Laporta can recall a €250 million offer.

00:55Lionel Messi's dad even spoke to Inter.

00:57Barcelona flat out refused and just kept Lionel Messi at all costs.

01:00He could have been at River Plate, Espanyol and Inter Milan.

01:03How different could his career have been?

01:05The big question is, would he still be the GOAT?

01:07Could you imagine missing out on the best player of all time because you couldn't afford growth hormones?

01:12Mind-blowing.

01:13Mind-blowing.