Messi, Cádiz and the love story that never was

“Cádiz is a very beautiful city and I would like to play here,” Lionel Messi commented to Luis Soler as he warmed up on the bench during the final of the 2005 Ramón de Carranza Trophy.

Then, at just 18 years old, Messi was part of the team that beat Cádiz 3-1 to claim the preseason trophy with goals from Ronaldinho, who scored twice, and Samuel Eto’o.

Cádiz were preparing for their return to La Liga after a 13-year absence and were on the lookout for some of the best talent to help boost their campaign. By the time Messi mentioned his attraction to Cádiz to the club’s assistant coach, Soler, the board was already taking steps to bring him on loan to the Ramón de Carranza Stadium.

Messi made his Barça debut the previous season and had appeared in nine competitive matches, while his debut for Argentina was just around the corner, but his place in Frank Rijkaard’s team for the 2005-06 campaign was not yet guaranteed.

The club had already filled its quota of non-EU citizens with Ronaldinho, Eto’o and Rafa Márquez already on the squad. In fact, Messi ended up missing out on the first five La Liga games, although he did play a role in the first Champions League wins against Werder Bremen and Udinese.

Cádiz realized the problem the Rosario faced before anyone else and aimed high: they also had their eyes on the Brazilian side Marcelo, who was still at Fluminense. The club tried to take him on loan and even investigated Messi about a temporary transfer.

“We considered bringing in several who were aiming high, not only Messi but also Marcelo,” said Álvaro Benito, Cádiz’s sporting director at the time. Objective.

“We were the ones who moved, I had seen him in the younger age groups and also with the Argentine Under 20 in Colombia, so they didn’t even know him in Argentina but we did know what he was capable of.

“I had a good relationship with [then-Barcelona director] Txiki Begiristain because we had talked about several Barça B players and we asked him to transfer Messi if they couldn’t count on him. “

Although cautious, Begiristain did not immediately refuse. The Blaugrana had intended to stay with the rising star, but neither the club nor the player ruled out a deal. Cádiz did not speak with the player’s father, Jorge, but he did approach Horacio Fernández, one of those responsible for his arrival at Barcelona five years earlier.

However, the plot soon fell apart.

Messi made an appearance in that Carranza Trophy clash and was waiting to receive his Spanish passport, so Barça decided to wait and see how the situation evolved. On September 26, his application was complete and Messi was no longer considered a non-EU member of the team and any possibility of him leaving evaporated.

“In the end it was not done because Barcelona did not want to [let him leave]”Said Benito.”[Rijkaard] I started to count on him for the first team. “

Starting in October, Messi became a regular on the side and, when he faced Cádiz again in December, the fans, now aware of his team’s failed attempt to sign him, chanted that they wanted him to stay.

“If there was a possibility, it was because of what could happen in the short term with the player, because every year a new jewel appears in La Masia and in the end many times it ends up leaving the squad. If that could happen to Messi, we wanted to be prepared, ”said Benito.

“Cádiz would have allowed him to experience things that he has never experienced at Barcelona, ​​such as that great passion for the players, since it is a love similar to that of Argentine teams.”

However, unfortunately for Cádiz, he quickly became a star at the Camp Nou. Messi went on to make 17 appearances in the Spanish top flight that season, but an injury he sustained in March ruled him out for the rest of the season. It was lost when the Catalan giants won the League and Champions double.

Of course, it soon helped lead them to a host of national, continental and world titles, as well as claiming the Ballon d’Or six times. Unbelievably, 15 years later, he’s still going strong.