Mauricio Pochettino has sensationally revealed how he could have ended up managing Lionel Messi.
The Tottenham manager explained how his paths came so close to crossing with the Barcelona mega star when he was a senior player at Espanyol in the summer of 2005.
Messi had red-tape problems at Barca at the time and neighbouring club Espanyol were at the forefront of the queue to sign the then 18-year-old on a season-long loan.
“I remember that summer, he was so close to moving to Espanyol,” Pochettino said, as quoted by the Guardian. “If he did, maybe he could have been the biggest star in Espanyol. We should be the Barcelona! He would have been my teammate and maybe I would still be in Espanyol managing him.”
OPINION
Pochettino is only having a little fun as he recalls how close he came to playing in the same team as Messi, but he is getting a little ahead of himself when he claims he could have been managing the greatest player of his generation at Espanyol. The less heralded of the Catalan clubs would only ever have been a temporary stop for Messi, who was the boy wonder of Spanish football in the summer of 2005, when he turned 18. Barcelona had already contracted him to 2010 and were well aware of his stratospheric potential. It was never realistic that the Argentine would play for any other than an elite club for anything other than a short period. Messi duly became everything Barcelona hoped for and more. Meanwhile, Pochettino has established himself as one of the world’s outstanding coaches. Could he manage Messi in the future? It is highly unlikely at club level. Pochettino has said he could never manage Barcelona due to his Espanyol links, so the only real possibility would be for the Argentina national team.