The Thoughts of Lionel Messi Regarding Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson’s Regrets

The fact that Lionel Messi has had a long-standing relationship with Manchester United, dating back to his younger years, must leave Sir Alex Ferguson with a lingering sense of sadness for what could have been.

As Lionel Messi’s spectacular career nears its end, it appears that we may never see the 35-year-old Argentine captain, who will be the winner of the 2022 World Cup, touch the stage of the Premier League.

This is a possibility despite the fact that Messi has already won the World Cup. After leading Argentina to victory at the World Cup, Lionel Messi is now considering signing a long-term contract to play in Europe. It has been reported that he has verbally agreed to a new deal with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which is significant because his current contract with PSG is scheduled to expire in the summer of 2019.

Despite the fact that Barcelona has shown a strong desire to have Messi return to the club, it seems increasingly likely that he will finish his career in Europe wearing the Paris Saint-Germain jersey. After that, Messi might pursue options in the Major League Soccer (MLS), clubs in the Middle East, or even return to Argentina to continue his football career until he retires.

Despite the fact that the Premier League used to captivate Messi’s thoughts, it appears that his future will take him quite far away from the beaches of England. This is true regardless of the road that he decides to choose.

Messi’s future at Barcelona was up in the air during the summer of 2020, and rumors began to circulate regarding the possibility of him leaving the club to play for another organization.

At that time, it was stated by The Athletic that Messi was being ‘enticed’ by ‘historic clubs in England such as Manchester United.’ Messi even publicly revealed his enthusiastic thoughts towards the ‘Theatre of Dreams.’

Unfortunately for United, the chance to witness Messi don the red jersey at Old Trafford seems like a distant reverie at this point. Nevertheless, that wasn’t an implausible notion when Messi was a budding player.

Before Messi became the best player in the world, there was speculation that he might move to Manchester United when he was 20 years old and the possibility of such a move seemed more plausible. Nevertheless, Messi admits that he “materialized the dream” of joining Barcelona and that he wasn’t interested in moving to another team.

When asked by FourFourTwo about the speculations surrounding his potential transfer to Manchester United in 2007, Lionel Messi answered, “I’m happy with Barcelona. Why would I ever say no to that? I was able to realize my goal. This is the best club in the world, and its players are the best in the world. This place makes my family happy, and they enjoy being here.

MU not only missed the opportunity to sign Messi but also witnessed Messi ‘tormenting’ them in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals. On both occasions, Messi’s ‘magic’ aided Barcelona in defeating MU and securing the coveted European club championship.

These two Champions League finals left a significant regret for the great manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who felt that he should have utilized Park Ji-Sung to compete with Messi. Ferguson considered that this would have been the most effective strategy. Rio Ferdinand, another Manchester United great, admitted to this the previous year.

Rio Ferdinand, who played as a central defender in the past, offered this explanation: “Sir Alex Ferguson said he should have had Park Ji-Sung marking Messi.” If there was anyone who was capable of achieving his goal, it was Park. However, I’ve seen the game replayed a great number of times.

It’s possible that Park could have done something to slow down Messi, and maybe that would have been enough. But would that have been enough to stop Lionel Messi in his prime? It’s not likely in my opinion. That is something that I don’t believe anyone could have accomplished. They did what was essentially equivalent to stealing our soul. Messi was the most important player.