The legend of Lionel Messi at Barcelona needs no explaining. 778 games, 672 goals, 303 assists and a rise to GOAT status.
He was the arch nemesis of Real Madrid from when he joined in 2000 until his departure in 2021, but things could have been very different if Los @Blancos hadn't hesitated over the chance to sign Messi first.
Writing for Le @Parisien, Guillem @Balague recalled a moment in 2001 when Messi could have left Barcelona over a financial dispute.
Messi, who was just 14 at the time, had a contract worth 100 m pesetas per season (€6,000 or £5,000 in today's money). That was deemed excessive by new sporting director Javier Perez @Farguell, who wanted to tie Messi down to a lesser deal.
"Who does he think he is? Maradona? Let's stop this and let him return to Argentina," an influential figure inside Camp Nou is quoted as saying at the time.
It looked like negotiations between Messi and Barcelona were going to break down. The @Blaugrana were arguing that they were not allowed to offer children so much money, despite never mentioning that when they first signed him. Over in Madrid, Real chief Jorge @Valdano was keeping a very close eye on things.
Real were ready to pay Messi more money and meet his demands, but @Valdano declined to make a formal offer, as they didn't want to get into a transfer battle with Barcelona. Instead, he tried to convince Messi to force his way out of Camp Nou, and that didn't work.
Just like that, the chance to sign Messi was gone.
It's something Real never really got over. Fast-forward to 2017 and Los @Blancos were again considering a move for Messi as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who was in a contract stand-off with the club.
Perez told Ronaldo that he had enough money to pay his own release clause to get out if he was so unhappy, vowing to reinvest that cash in Messi if the chance arose. Obviously, it didn't, and the chance to sign Messi would slip away forever.
Messi, signing a 'surprise for everybody', accepts PSG director Leonardo.
Lionel Messi did not want to leave Barcelona and his eventual signing for Paris Saint-Germain even caught them by surprise, according to the Parisians' sporting director Leonardo.
Messi ended a 21-year association with Barça back in August when it was announced he would not be re-signing for the club.
His contract had officially expired at the end of June but, Barça and Messi, were expecting to be able to announce a new deal on a reduced salary.
But even with the reduced terms, Barça were still unable to get their wage expenditure under their @LaLiga - imposed salary cap, which prevented them registering new signings.
As such, Messi was officially a free agent and PSG quickly swooped to bring him in, with the Ligue 1 champions and Manchester City both being linked with him extensively in the past.
The situation surrounding Messi's inability to re-sign for Barça and his move to PSG shocked the world of football, and that included those at PSG.
"Messi was convinced to stay at Barcelona," Leonardo told reporters at the Festival @dello Sport on Saturday.
We had some contacts. Some rumors were saying he may not stay at Barcelona because his contract was expiring.
"We checked the situation, we talked but, we did not have the feeling he wanted to leave Barcelona. However, we started networking. This helped us to be in a good position.
"Then Barcelona announced the end of their relationship, so that's the moment we started, and it's been great. It's been a surprise for everybody.
"Then he arrived. The way he arrived… he was at Barcelona for 21 years. It was the first transfer he'd done.
"It was a new thing for him to be in a new dressing room. He's got an impacting silence, he doesn't talk much, but he is someone to admire."
Another high-profile player signed by PSG on a free transfer in pre-season was Gianluigi Donnarumma, who departed Milan after running his contract down.
Many in Italy have been intensely critical of @Donnarumma for opting to leave for the greater riches on offer in Paris, but Leonardo insisted PSG did not get in touch with him until June, two months after his exit was confirmed.
"I know it's a difficult situation," Leonardo said. "We never contacted Donnarumma before June. I don't want to be wrong, I think Milan announced in April that they were not extending the contract [of @Donnarumma].
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