- Former agent of Lionel Messi, Horacio Gaggioli has revealed the club Messi would have joined instead of Barcelona
- The player's former agent has admitted that Messi would have joined arch-rivals Real Madrid instead of the Catalans
- NAIJ.com understands that Gaggioli was the one who organised Messi's trial at Barcelona at the age of 13
Former agent of Lionel Messi, Horacio Gaggioli has revealed the club Messi would have joined instead of Spanish giants Barcelona.
The Barcelona star's former agent has admitted that Messi would have joined arch-rivals Real Madrid instead of the Catalans.
NAIJ.com understands that Gaggioli was the one who organised Messi's trial at Barcelona at the age of 13.
Lionel Messi.
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Sources revealed that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner moved from Rosario, Argentina to Barcelona as a youth in February 2001 due to the assistance of Gaggioli.
The top agent disclosed that Messi had taken up residence in Madrid where he considered living back then, he believed the Argentine would have begun his European career at the Bernabeu.
The agent said: "Due to life circumstances, I went to live in Barcelona and I brought him to Barca for a trial. But I was about to live in Madrid.
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"If that had happened, I would have taken him to Madrid for a trial. That's life, those are the details.
"Today, Messi could have been a Real Madrid player, of course. The family wanted to come to Spain, to the city where I was to have some support," he added.
Lionel Messi.
Gaggioli also stated that he was not convinced that Messi was a talented player until he watched him play.
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The agent said: "When I saw him at the airport, I thought that boy could not be a footballer, because he was too small and skinny.
"I did not have a good impression. But when I saw him training in the Barca fields, I realised that he was a great player, who could play without a doubt."
NAIJ.com reported that the Argentine have been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud.
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