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

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.