The story that connects Lionel Messi with River added a new chapter in recent hours, told by the protagonist himself. In an interview with Luzu TV, the current Inter Miami player revealed unpublished details about the trial he underwent in Núñez and the reasons that prevented him from continuing his career at the club before emigrating to Barcelona.
According to what number 10 recounted, the chance to wear the red sash was closer than many imagined. "I went to River on my own. I did a trial, I stayed training. After 10 days I went back and River told me it wanted me to stay, that it would take care of the treatment," the Rosario native explained, in reference to the hormone treatment he needed to strengthen his growth.
El Millonario's intention was clear: to sign him and lodge him in the club's residence. However, the problem arose at the moment of processing the transfer. "I would have stayed in the residence. But they told me that regarding the transfer they couldn't do anything, that I had to go to Newell's myself to ask for it. Meanwhile, when I went, obviously they didn't give it to me. Everything was cut off there," he recalled.
Messi also went into more detail about the situation his family was going through in Rosario and pointed to circumstances that went beyond the "leprosa" institution. "The treatment at Newell's was very expensive, the club said it was going to take care of it. My dad's company was covering part of it, but even so we still weren't making it," he said.
Newell's no podía pagarle el tratamiento a Messi
In that regard, he described the everyday difficulties they faced: "We lived in Zona Sur and we had to go all the way to Malvinas, the other end of Rosario. They made my mom go every day to get money and when they told her they were going to give it to her, they gave her 5 or 10 pesos. They strung her along," he recounted starkly.
The Argentine captain clarified that his discomfort was not with Newell's as an institution, but with specific individuals. "Sometimes they told her "the guy who has to give it to you isn't here." That's why my mom's anger with Newell's. With the people who were there at that time, not with the club," he explained.
That scenario ended up pushing a decision that would shape football history. "In quotes, That's why everything that happened afterward happened. I went to Barcelona, half of the family split up…," Messi concluded, making it clear that the chance to play for River existed, but it was cut short by a combination of sporting and human obstacles.
