Manchester City have always viewed Lionel Messi as the ultimate fantasy signing. Now, years later, a former coach has revealed that the Premier League club once made a shock, and completely accidental, move for the Argentine superstar.
Mark Bowen, who served as assistant to manager Mark Hughes in 2008, explained that City accidentally sounded out Messi during the same chaotic summer that brought Robinho to the Etihad. The attempt came before Sheikh Mansour purchased the club from former owner Thaksin Shinawatra.
Man City’s deadline-day spending frenzy
Speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, Bowen described a frantic final stretch of the transfer window, driven more by impulse than long-term planning.
“It was getting close to deadline day, and (CEO) Gary Cook told Mark Hughes that the owners wanted to make a statement,” Bowen said. “At one point, we were told we had to make $30 million offers for players. $30 million for Berbatov, $30 million for Robinho, $30 million for Ribery. They were just chucking out bids to clubs in Europe to see who would bite.”
In the end, Robinho arrived from Real Madrid in a headline-grabbing deal that signaled City’s new ambitions, even if the club was still years away from becoming a global powerhouse.
The Messi bid that wasn’t meant to happen
Amid that flurry of offers, City somehow went a step further, albeit by mistake.
“While all of this was going on, at an event in London, somebody, probably Gary Cook, said ‘Jesus Christ, this is getting messy,’ so somebody has literally sent an offer to Barcelona for Lionel Messi,” explained Bowen.
The reaction in Barcelona was swift and furious.
“The (Barcelona) president has come back and gone, ‘Who do you think you are? You think you can buy Lionel Messi off us? No chance. Please back away," Bowen continued. “All because somebody in the office heard, ‘we think this is messy.’”
At the time, Messi was already widely regarded as one of the best players on the planet. He had just finished second in the Ballon d’Or voting, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, and was untouchable in Barcelona’s eyes.
A move that could have changed everything
That summer marked the beginning of City’s first major spending wave. Vincent Kompany was among the early arrivals, joining Robinho as symbols of a new era that would eventually lead to Premier League dominance and Champions League glory.
The accidental bid for Messi never stood a chance. Still, it remains one of soccer’s great what-if moments. Had Barcelona even entertained the idea, the modern history of the sport might look very different today.