It sounds unthinkable, but Real Madrid reportedly tried to sign Lionel Messi for €250 million (R3.76 billion) in 2013.
Read: The Highest Paid Barca Stars After Coutinho Deal
Los Blancos are struggling this season, having dropped 19 points behind their bitter rivals FC Barcelona, while Cristiano Ronaldo is failing to shine in LaLiga with just four goals this campaign so far.
However, according to Der Spiegel, Ronaldo and Messi could have both been running out together for Real had Barcelona accepted a whopping €250 million offer for the Argentine back in 2013.
The Madrid club was apparently prepared to pay him €23 million (R346 million) a year until 2021, and Inigo Juarez, the Messi family's lawyer at the time, reportedly informed Messi's father and agent, Jorge, of the offer from Madrid.
Club president Florentino Perez apparently wanted to meet Messi and his father on a private plane to conclude the deal, and Los Blancos were even prepared to "put pressure" on the prime minister of Spain regarding the Blaugrana star's tax fraud case.
However, the Argentine and his family were not interested in the proposed record deal, and Real went on to sign Gareth Bale for €101 million (R1.52 billion) a few weeks later.
Read: New Barca Signing: I Got Goosebumps When I Met Messi
According to AS, though, Los Blancos insisted that the Der Spiegel report is "totally false" when asked by Investigative Collaborations, an investigative journalism network, about it recently.
Can you imagine Ronaldo and Messi both lining up for Real? Have your say in the comments section below.
