Arsenal's chief of scouting Steve Rowley has revealed that the
London club once had an eye on Lionel Messi.
Whilst scouting Francesc 'Cesc' Fabregas, they were attracted to
the young Argentine, who played in the same youth team as the
midfielder, only to be stymied by paperwork.
"He was in the same team as Cesc Fabregas, but we couldn't do
anything because he is Argentine and that causes work permit
problems," said Rowley to the Daily Mail.
Cesc arrived at the Gunners in 2003, establishing himself as a
first team regular within a couple of seasons, while Messi quickly
broke through to the full squad at the blaugrana.
