Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that La Liga outfit Espanyol were very close to signing Lionel Messi.
The Argentine forward, who is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, won his fifth Ballon d’Or earlier this month.
Pochettino, who spent close to seven seasons with the Catalan outfit, was reacting to claims by Brendan Rodgers that he nearly scooped up Dele Alli for Liverpool. The Spurs boss chose to point to Messi nearly joining Espanyol as evidence players often come close to joining other clubs.
Alli has been in prime form this season, cementing his place in the Spurs’ first-team with six goals from 30 appearances.
Pochettino insisted that what matters is that Alli is now at White Hart Lane and not Anfield.
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"You know how many players were close to signing for a club? It's just what one manager said. Dele Alli is here now”, Pochettino was quoted as saying by Catalan sports daily Sport.
"When I was at Espanyol, we were very close to signing Leo Messi.
“We were a hair's breadth away from signing him. Incredible but true.
“He was 17 years old and played with the youth team and came close to signing for Espanyol.
"Very close, but it didn't happen. In football it's always like this, 'yes, yes, yes', but the reality of football is what happens, not what nearly happened."
Pochettino’s side, helped by Alli, have moved to within five points of league leaders Leicester City and are considered dark horses for the Premier League title.
