Lionel Messi at River Plate? It may sound strange, but had things turned out differently, the Argentine attacker could have signed for the Buenos Aires giants instead of Barcelona as a talented teenager. And modern football as we know it would have been completely different.
With his name very much etched into Barca folklore, it seems so unlikely now but, before his move to Spain, Messi travelled to Buenos Aires from his native Rosario for a trial with los Millonarios as a tiny but talented 12-year-old with close friend Leandro Gimene. The pair played with River’s reserves against the starters from that age group - including Gonzalo Higuain - in a practice match. Leo left a lasting impression.
“He blew me away in that first practice,” River’s former youth coach, Eduardo Abrahamian, toldGoal. “He was very small but we didn’t worry about size. We looked at technical abilities - and he had plenty of those. It was impressive: in the practice he scored about 12 goals and, even though Gimenez scored a few more, they all came from Messi’s moves. He had amazing abilities.”
Messi trained with River for several days and Abrahamian immediately told the club’s directors that they were onto something special.
“He was here for three of four days. He blew us away,” Abrahamian added. “Together with Higuain, at that age group, they would have been champions every year.
“I called the club’s director general and I told him to come down and have a look because this was something surprising. For the technical quality he had, his speed, the way he beat players - let’s just say he was different.”
However, Messi was just 12 and, back then, the club only housed players of 13 and over - so he returned to Roasrio. Even though Abrahamian pushed for his signing, he never came back.
Those things never were sorted out, however, and River missed out on a talented youngster who would go on to become the world’s best, and perhaps even the greatest player in the history of the game.
Various versions of the story have been bandied about but one popular theory is that Messi’s father asked for more than the club were willing to pay. Another is that the club baulked at the costs of the growth hormone treatment he required - although that was estimated at around just $900 (€800) per month.
