Chelsea have done some huge deals as a club, but they could have completed the biggest in football history 11 years ago.
Back then, amid a tax evasion case, Lionel Messi considered leaving Barcelona and was seemingly more than open to joining Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho was manager at the time and had done some fantastic business across his two spells as Blues boss.
Mourinho signed Michael Ballack on a free transfer in 2006 and brought Diego Costa to Stamford Bridge eight years later, for example. But landing Messi would have easily been his greatest achievement in the transfer market.
Photo by Rita Franca/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo by Rita Franca/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Deco ruined Chelsea’s chances of signing Lionel Messi
When Chelsea tried to sign Messi in 2014, Mourinho looked to have done the hard part: convince the forward to leave his beloved Barcelona.
In his book Grand Hotel Calciomercato, journalist Gianluca Di Marzio revealed that Mourinho had actually persuaded Messi to move to west London. However, two parties ended up getting in Chelsea’s way, including former Blue Deco.
Deco played for Chelsea from 2008–10 and helped the club to win one Premier League title and two FA Cups. He would have left the Bridge as a popular figure.
After all of the revelations in Di Marzio’s book, though, his popularity may have decreased among Chelsea supporters.
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As per an extract from Grand Hotel Calciomercato, which was shared by Sky Sports in 2020, it was Deco who made it known to Messi’s father and agent Jorge that the player had been in contact with Mourinho.
Being in the dark was clearly not something Jorge appreciated and, in the end, the deal collapsed ultimately because of both him and Deco, Grand Hotel Calciomercato explains.
Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images
Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images
What Chelsea were willing to pay to sign Lionel Messi
Roman Abramovich was never one to play about when it came to transfers. Abramovich was willing to pay £70m for Franck Ribery in 2008 and was also prepared to offer an enormous fee for Messi six years later.
According to Grand Hotel Calciomercato, Chelsea were ready to trigger the World Cup winner’s €250m (£210.9m) release clause and hand him a stellar wage packet.
Being Lionel Messi, it probably would have been worth it. But after intervention from both Deco and Jorge Messi, Mourinho and Abramovich’s dream never came to fruition.