One can only imagine how many times they’ve bitten the edge of the table at River Plate Buenos Aires since 2000!
At that time, a certain Lionel Messi (now 35) auditioned for you for three weeks. The talented lad had impressed at Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario and also made a good impression at River Plate.
However, the scouts didn’t seem to realize that one of the biggest soccer stars in the world was in front of them, otherwise they would certainly have made money for him. Or someone would have called at the bank.
One thing is certain: River Plate did not sign Messi at the time, instead Barcelona grabbed the huge talent from Argentina. If River Plate had reacted faster then, the club could still have benefited from the Messi proceeds from a later sale.
So Messi went to Barcelona, scoring a total of 672 goals for the Catalans and securing them 28 major titles. Even in old age, he still has a market value of 50 million euros.
Photo: Michel Spingler / AP
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/fuer-chelsea-damals-nicht-gut-enug-frances-superstuermer-mbappe-8a9e9f59454d4c4d9bd0d59d757f7a9f-80509124/Bild/7.bild.jpg” /> Not good enough for Chelsea back then: France’s super striker MbappéPhoto: Michel Spingler / AP
By the way, not the only costly mistake in the professional business!
The scouting departments work less efficiently and thoroughly than one might think!
Kylian Mbappe (23, Paris SG) played for Chelsea at the age of 12, but wasn’t good enough in defense for the English. Monaco later got smart enough to snap up the French centre-forward, who is now valued at €160m.
at Steven Gerrard (42), who led Liverpool to Champions League honors and the FA Cup title, the case was different. He even sat with Manchester United coaching legend Alex Ferguson (80) at the table for a celebratory dinner after playing two friendlies. Ferguson wanted him badly, “but I would never have signed for United,” explained Gerrard.
Photo: WITTERS
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/heung-min-son-ist-den-hsv-fans-ein-TERM-heute-spielt-er-zwei-etagen-hoeher- in-der-premier-league-3f97d2b3e0c742e7a64c172aba6cb97e-80509754/Bild/4.bild.jpg”/> Heung-min Son is well known to HSV fans. Today he plays two tiers up in the Premier LeaguePhoto: WITTERS
Tottenham-Star Heung-min Son (29), known to many from his days in Leverkusen and Hamburg, recently revealed that he could have ended up in the Premier League earlier. He had auditioned for Portsmouth and Blackburn but didn’t speak English and nobody really cared about him. “It was a bad time and I was a kid,” said the Korean.
Photo: MARCELO DEL POZO/REUTERS
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/ivan-rakitic-spielt-heut-fuer-den-fc-sevilla-ec7a726195c7471c95872a889d179e4d-80509760/Bild/4.bild.jpg”/> Ivan Rakitic plays for Sevilla FC todayPhoto: MARCELO DEL POZO/REUTERS
Foto: picture alliance / Sven Simon
