Chelsea were reportedly on the brink of signing Lionel Messi in 2014 before an intervention from the Barcelona forward's father.
The Argentina international has been linked with a move to the Premier League on several occasions, including earlier in 2020 when Manchester City showed firm interest in the superstar.
However, for varying reasons, the 33-year-old has never been able to seal a transfer to England's top flight, seeing him spend his entire professional career so far at Camp Nou.
According to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, then-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and owner Roman Abramovich made a play for Messi in 2014.
In his book 'Grand Hotel Calciomercato', Di Marzio claims that Mourinho managed to tempt the player into a switch to Stamford Bridge via FaceTime, while Abramovich was prepared to pay a £225m release clause.
Nevertheless, Messi's father and agent Jorge Messi is said to have put a stop to discussions, insisting that his son remained with the Catalan giants.
Darren Plant
