Khaberni - Massimo Moratti, the former president of the Italian club Inter Milan, revealed that he tried more than 10 years ago to sign the Argentine legend, Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi played most of his soccer career at FC Barcelona from 2004 to 2021 when he left the club for Paris Saint-Germain in France.
Moratti recalled, in statements to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", his attempt to sign Messi years ago, explaining: "I made a crazy move in 2012; I offered Messi an amount of 500 million euros. It was a fantasy sum at that time."
He elaborated: "I sent the vice-president of Inter to Barcelona to negotiate, but Messi did not even open the message, and did not know the value of the offer; he rejected it without looking at the details."
About the reason why Lionel Messi refused the offer from Inter, Moratti clarified that the Argentine's message to him was clear, saying: "I appreciate your interest in me, but I want to retire at Barcelona."
Massimo Moratti served as the president of Inter Milan from 1995 to 2013.
The famous Italian newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport" reported in 2020 that Inter Milan was trying to sign Messi for 260 million euros when he decides to leave Barça.
Note that Lionel Messi succeeded from 2009 to 2012 in achieving the feat of winning the Ballon d'Or four consecutive times, a record unmatched in the award's history.
