Espanyol's Secret Pursuit of Young Messi Exposed

In November 2025, former Argentina full-back Pablo Zabaleta has shed new light on a fascinating episode from Lionel Messi's early career. Zabaleta, who played for Espanyol in the past, has revealed that the Catalan club made a concerted effort to sign Messi before he exploded onto the scene at Barcelona.

According to Zabaleta, Espanyol were fully aware of his strong friendship with Messi, who had just played in the Under-20 World Cup at the time. The club's directors approached Zabaleta and asked if he could help facilitate a move for Messi to join Espanyol, as Barcelona had already filled their non-EU spots in the first team.

However, Zabaleta explained that Barcelona reacted quickly to the situation, sealing Messi's future and ensuring that their prized asset would not be lost to their city rivals. "Barça moved so quickly that there was no chance of it happening, and Barça was obviously not going to let a situation of that magnitude happen, losing a player like Leo to another team, the city's biggest rival," Zabaleta said.

The story serves as a fascinating glimpse into Messi's early career and the lengths that rival clubs were willing to go to in order to secure his services. It also highlights Barcelona's determination to keep hold of their young prodigy, who would go on to become one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.