Roman Abramovich almost signed Lionel Messi after 'Chelsea FaceTime call left him wooed'
dailystar.co.ukChelsea and their owner Roman Abramovich, with the Russian's sanctions preventing the Blues from currently being able to sign new players.However, back in 2014, Abramovich almost made the biggest signing of all, as Lionel Messi was on the brink of trading Barcelona for Chelsea.Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both made moves this summer, although for the Argentine it was his first transfer since turning pro, but both are very much coming to the end of their careers.However, when Chelsea were close to signing Messi he was in his prime, and it was almost a FaceTime call that sealed the deal for the former Barcelona star, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.After an astonishing 41 goals across all competitions in the 2013/14 season, Messi grew frustrated with the Spanish authorities as he was caught in a tax fraud probe, and the Argentine was tempted by a new life in London under Jose Mourinho, according to Di Marzio.After speaking with former Barcelona team-mate Deco, who also had played at Chelsea, a meeting was scheduled between Messi and Mourinho, but via a rather unconventional FaceTime call.But the call reportedly worked at the time, as Messi went to tell his camp afterwards: "With Mourinho, for how he's spoken to me, I can win whatever I want: he's a winner, go ahead and close the deal."HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Lionel Messi stay at Paris Saint Germain next summer?
Comment below.Obviously a move never materialised and Chelsea ended up signing Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona instead, and according to Fabrizio Romano, after careful consideration Messi decided to continue his life in Spain.Romano said: "Everything collapsed because Barcelona was something special for Lionel Messi.
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