Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi has disclosed that he once declined an offer to play for the Spanish national team.
Speaking on the Miro de Atras podcast, Messi said he was approached during his early years at Barcelona.
However, the 39-year-old explained that his heart was always committed to representing Argentina, the country he left as a boy to join Barcelona’s academy in Catalonia. “There was a moment when something was mentioned from Spain,” he said.
“I’d been in Barcelona since I was very young, so it wasn’t strange. But my desire was always to play for Argentina.”