How Lionel Messi's career almost didn't happen
Disappointingly for non-Barca fans, this wasn’t in recent times, however, but long before he became arguably the world’s best player.
Speaking to an Argentinian outlet (via 101greatgoals), the Pulga confirmed that his family decided to move back to Rosario when he was a child, but that he stayed on with his father after choosing to pursue his dream of playing top-level football.
“My brothers were old, they had things in Argentina, they wanted to go back,” Messi confirmed.
“My sister was younger and my parents they made the decision that she had to go back, so I was left alone with my dad.
“(My dad) asked me, what do we do? You have the decision.
“I told him I wanted to stay, he was convinced and I saw that the possibility was real.”
The 30-year-old eventually remained, and won a massive four Champions League titles with the Catalans.
Recent reports indicated that super-rich clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City and PSG would always be on the hunt for him, no matter what.