Espanyol explored the possibility of signing Leo Messi after the Under-20 World Cup in 2005. Pablo Zabaleta revealed the details of the failed operation on ‘Post United’, citing Barcelona’s refusal as the key factor. Non-EU player slots proved decisive.
Decades ago, Espanyol dreamed of signing Leo Messi. This happened after the Argentinian star’s performance at the 2005 Under-20 World Cup. Twenty years later, Pablo Zabaleta recalled the episode in an interview with ‘Post United’.
“Espanyol made a move. Obviously, they came to me because they knew about my relationship with Leo, having just played in that Under-20 World Cup. The issue was that Barcelona had filled all their non-EU player slots in the first team,” he recounted.
“After that World Cup, Messi could not return to playing in the youth team or for Barcelona’s B team. He was ready to go straight into the first team. I remember that, as there was some problem at Barcelona, Espanyol started to make inquiries,” he asserted.
“Barcelona acted so quickly that they didn’t give them an inch to make it a reality. They weren’t going to let a situation of that magnitude slip. They couldn’t afford to lose a player like Leo to their biggest city rivals,” Pablo Zabaleta concluded.