Zabaleta: Espanyol wanted to sign Messi, but Barcelona could not let him go to their city rivals

November 16th: Former Argentine defender Zabaleta recently accepted an interview and revealed the behind-the-scenes details of Espanyol's attempt to sign Messi many years ago, and talked about Barcelona's reaction at the time.

About the Spaniard's initial actions and Zabaleta's relationship with Messi

"The Spaniards did take action at the time. It was normal for them to come to me because they knew that I had a good relationship with Messi, and he had just finished playing in the U20 World Cup."

About Messi's situation in Barcelona at the time and the "opportunities" that the Spaniard thought

"At that time, the number of non-EU players in the Barcelona first team was full, so In a sense, after Messi played in that World Cup and achieved those results, it was impossible for him to return to the youth team or the B team. "

"He already had the ability to directly enter the first team. But the problem was that the quota was indeed full, and Barcelona's first team was encountering difficulties. The Spaniard took action because of this. "

Regarding the specific requirements of the Spaniard's top management for him,

" the club director asked me: ‘You have a good relationship with him, do you think it’s possible for us to do something to bring Messi to Espanyol?’ They actually want to test to see if there is some way, and I can’t tell how this signing can be achieved.”

About the final result and Barcelona’s reaction

”Barcelona responded very quickly and did not leave any room for maneuver at all, especially with someone like Messi. Let such a player go to a rival in the same city. "

Regarding the possibility of Messi leaving Barcelona at that time, "I tell you, not only the Spaniards, but also any club in Spain will not let him go. They know very well that since they have the best player, they must not lose him. "

"So I think there is no possibility of Messi leaving Barcelona at that time."