In spite of his opinion that Lionel Messi is the greatest player in football history, legendary Spain manager Vicente del Bosque has said that he tried to convince the forward to sign with La Roja before Argentina.
Following Argentina’s World Cup victory this winter, Messi is adored more than ever.
Del Bosque was in charge of Spain’s most prosperous era in history, leading his nation to its first World Cup in 2010 and keeping the European Championships in 2012.
Del Bosque acknowledged admiring Messi in an interview with Radio Marca, and he acknowledged trying to persuade him to play for Spain rather than Argentina.
“Messi is the best player I have ever seen. Messi wins out above Cristiano Ronaldo in my vote. Messi has impressed me the most out of all the football players I have ever known because of his consistency and playing quality. He has taken his squad forward and had some amazing seasons “says he.
“I did everything I could to convince Messi to choose Spain. Lionel, however, declined out of love for his country.”
When Messi immigrated to Spain at the age of 13, the Spanish football association began to pursue him almost as soon as he arrived in Barcelona.
A few days after turning 17 he made his debut for Argentina‘s young teams.
