Moratti reveals Messi rejected €500m Inter offer to retire at Barcelona

Former Inter president Massimo Moratti has revealed that he tried to sign Lionel Messi in 2012 with a €500m offer, but the Argentina forward refused to even hear the details because he wanted to finish his career at Barcelona.

Moratti recalled the extraordinary attempt in an interview reported by Catalan newspaper Sport. He said Inter sent its vice-president to Barcelona to negotiate, although the proposal never reached that stage after Messi immediately rejected it.

“I did something crazy in 2012 and made Messi an offer of €500m,” Moratti said. “At that time, that figure was crazy. I sent Inter’s vice-president to Barcelona to negotiate, but Messi did not even open the letter and never knew the value of the offer. He rejected it without knowing the details.”

Moratti said he later managed to speak directly to Messi, who made his position clear.

“I appreciate your interest in me, but I want to retire at Barcelona,” Messi told him, according to Moratti.

The former Inter president acknowledged that he already understood Messi wanted to remain with the Catalan club, but hoped the scale of the financial offer might persuade him to change his mind.

“He was determined to stay at Barcelona,” Moratti said. “I knew that, but I tried to tempt him with money and it did not work.”

Messi ultimately left Barcelona against his wishes in 2021, joining Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer after the club’s financial problems prevented it from renewing his contract.

He later moved to Inter Miami, meaning he did not fulfil his ambition of ending his playing career at Barcelona.

Messi spent most of his career at Barcelona and became the club’s leading player, helping them win numerous trophies. Among those successes was the 2015 Champions League, which he won as part of a celebrated attacking partnership with Luis Suarez and Neymar.

Moratti’s proposed deal would have represented one of the most ambitious transfers in football history had Messi accepted it. Instead, the forward remained committed to Barcelona in 2012 and declined to discover how much Inter were prepared to pay.