Lionel Messi dominated Spanish football, then French football and is now attempting to steer Inter Miami to North American dominance ahead of the 2024 MLS season.
Italy hasn't featured as a destination in his career, but things could have been different.
When Messi was in the process of leaving Barcelona in 2021 after the Catalans realised there was no way they could register his new contract and still be on the right side of La Liga's spending rules, it presented the opportunity of a lifetime for all manner of clubs.
Here was, at the time, a six-time Ballon d'Or winner, available as a free agent. The usual suspects, including Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City, were linked. It was eventually Paris Saint-Germain that won the battle for Messi's attention, but AC Milan were also very keen and spent more than a week trying as best they could to strike up a deal.
Milan could have been a perfect landing spot for Messi. The club has won seven European Cup and Champions League titles, is among the most illustrious names anywhere in world football and has been home to countless iconic players over the decades. After a distinctly barren spell, by 2021 the Rossoneri were also on the brink of ending an 11-year Serie A title drought.
"For ten days, we tried to bring Messi to Milan, but then we realised it was impossible," club legend Paolo Maldini, who was technical director at the time, told PoretCast.
"It is too late now, but a player like Messi is a spectacle for anyone to witness. When I read that he might even go to Inter, I got scared!"
Inter were indeed in the market for Messi in 2021 too, even if the financial aspect of an approach wasn't easy, a fact confirmed by vice-president Javier Zanetti earlier this year.
"I was surprised when [Messi] left Barcelona," Zanetti said. "Realistically, we cannot compete with PSG or Premier League clubs, but due to our rapport, we spoke when there was a chance."
Inter had even made a very bold attempt to sign Messi as far back as 2006 when he was still just a teenager and at the very beginning of a career that would redefine football history.
Barcelona president recently claimed that he turned down a monstrous bid for Messi from Inter during his previous term in office, telling Onda Cero: "We rejected a £225m offer coming from Inter in 2006. [Massimo] Moratti wanted to bring him to his club."
The world record transfer at that time was around £45m, set by Real Madrid when they signed Zinedine Zidane from Juventus. In fact, even now the most any club has ever paid for a player - £199m for Neymar's move to PSG - is still less than what Inter were supposedly willing to pay.
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This article was originally published on 90min as When AC Milan tried & failed to sign Lionel Messi.
