Real Madrid have apparently tried to sign Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi on three occasions during his stunning career, and the reasons why they failed to do so have now come to light.
Messi is arguably the greatest footballer to have ever graced the pitch, with many placing him ahead of the likes of Diego Maradona, Pele and rival of the present, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The diminutive star has been a Barcelona player most ofhis life and joined the club at the tender age of 13 after moving to Spain from his homeland of Argentina.
The now 29-year-old has enjoyed a glittering career with the Catalan giants, winning La Liga eight times and the Champions League four times. He also has six Supercopa de Espana titles, four Copa del Rey's, three UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups under his belt, as well as a host of individual awards and record-breaking achievements.
It is fair to say that Messi is a legend of the game, whose talent and goalscoring prowess may never be seen again once he hangs up his boots.
He and Barcelona have been a match made in heaven, but according to Spanish journalist Javier Gomez Matallanas, his career might have panned out completely differently.
Writing for El Confidencial, he claims Madrid first tried to prise Messi away from Barca whilst he was at their La Masia academy, but president Florentino Perez instead sanctioned deals for seasoned superstars Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo.
In the case of Figo, Perez apparently didn't want to miss out on the Portugal star and made him the focus of his attentions, leaving the young Messi to develop at Barca.
The next time Los Blancos tried to sign Messi was in 2008, when Kaka and Ronaldo became Galacticos for world record fees - Perez, who succeeded Ramon Calderon for his second stint as president,considered bidding for Messi but missed out in the end and secured Ronaldo instead.
Matallanas claims Real have even tried to sign him again recently, with Perez prepared to meet his staggering £212m release clause and £21m-a-year wages, but the Argentine's apparent "unhappiness" was not to prove as decisive a factor as the 69-year-old had hoped.
The superstar's future might be up in the air at the moment due to his contract situation,but it would probably be the most controversial transfer of all timeshould he actuallyemulate Figo and join Madrid.