Lionel Messi was "tempted to go to Arsenal" in 2003, according to his former agent Fabian Soldini, with the Gunners indicating interest in wooing Cesc Fabregas away from Barcelona.
One product of the renowned La Masia academy system has been accepted into the books in north London.
Fabregas went on to spend eight years with Arsenal, becoming club captain along the way, before returning to his roots at Barcelona in 2011.
He was reunited with Messi during that move, as the following six-time Ballon d'Or winner chose to stay put.
There was, however, a time when a move to England was mooted, with Soldini stating that the history of contemporary football may have been drastically different.
A guy who oversaw the development of a developing star in his early days informed Marca: "Messi was tempted to join Arsenal, but he declined.
Arsenal’s former head of global recruitment, Francis Cagigao, told Goal recently: “We had identified Messi and we wouldn’t have been the only ones.
“I remember there were a couple of Italian clubs and obviously Spanish clubs who were very aware of Messi.
“But he couldn’t play national level because of the restriction on his status in the country at the time. He could only play regional games for Barcelona.
“So, yes, there were talks between myself and representatives, and we got a very good feeling that there was a possibility that the player would want to join us.
“But, once we’d delved into the situation and looked at it from a legal point of view, we very quickly saw that it actually couldn’t happen. It was impossible. So, that was discarded once we saw that.”
