In the summer of 2014, José Mourinho returned to Chelsea, ready to take on new challenges at the club where he had previously experienced great success. However, one of the most surprising and ambitious tasks he received upon his return came straight from the club’s president. It was a mission that, on paper, seemed impossible, even for someone of Mourinho’s stature: convincing Lionel Messi, the world’s most coveted footballer, to leave Barcelona and join Chelsea.
Mourinho was given what many would consider an enticing bargaining chip — an offer of 250 million euros. At the time, this was an unprecedented sum, enough to buy out Messi’s contract and then some. The idea of bringing Messi to Stamford Bridge was bold, but the reality of the situation quickly became apparent.
“I contacted Messi’s father,” Mourinho recalls, “and he told me something I couldn’t have predicted. He said, ‘My son will never leave Barcelona, and he won’t be sold during his career. If he ever leaves, it will be on a free transfer. He’s not for sale—that’s my son’s stance.’”
Despite the allure of an enormous financial offer, Messi’s response, through his father, was definitive. It wasn’t about money or contracts for the Argentine star; his loyalty to Barcelona was unwavering. The thought that Messi could leave his beloved club for a price seemed absurd at the time.
Mourinho, one of football’s most successful and pragmatic managers, was left stunned. “I thought to myself, there has to be a time when he’ll be sold for a price, to make the most of his career,” Mourinho reflects. Yet, time would prove him wrong.
In 2021, Messi left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain — but not for the astronomical sums that had once been floated. Instead, he left on a free transfer, just as his father had predicted years earlier. And in 2023, Messi once again left a club — this time, Paris — for free, joining Inter Miami in the twilight of his career.
For Mourinho, Messi’s career trajectory is nothing short of remarkable. Despite the world of football revolving around money, contracts, and transfers, Messi’s story stands apart. He moved not for sums of money that would define his value but for free, proving something Mourinho admits he hadn’t fully understood at the time: “Messi is a priceless player because no amount of money could do him justice.”
In a football landscape where players are often defined by their price tags, Lionel Messi remains an outlier — a player whose legacy isn’t tied to the fortunes he could have commanded but to his unparalleled talent and loyalty. For Mourinho and the football world, Messi’s career serves as a reminder that some players are truly beyond valuation.
