Messi was destined to play for Spain but one coach prevented it
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Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 20.11.25. | 13:39
Jose Pekerman revealed how he stopped one of the best players in the world to play for Spain
There are details that have changed the course of sports history. Some of them may seem harmless at first, but many years later turn out to be crucial when it comes to the global state of things. Experienced football strategist Jose Pekerman spoke in more detail about how he managed to prevent the legendary Lionel Messi from playing for Spain, even though the Spanish FA had prepared all the paperwork in an attempt to register the La Masia-raised youngster for the U20 World Cup.
A three-time U20 World Cup winner with Argentina and head coach of the senior national team from 2004 to 2006, Pekerman (74) emotionally recounted at the 2025 Ole Summit in Buenos Aires how, on June 29, 2004, he urgently organized a friendly match with the sole purpose of securing Messi’s position and putting an end to Spain’s hopes.
“We had information from Spain about Leo Messi from the U17 tournament in Finland. Even people from their coaching staff told us: ‘If we had that kid, we would have won” Pekerman told journalist Hernan Claus, as reported by Marca The Argentine coach explained that he was absolutely certain of Messi’s rise.
“I told the youth coach, Tocalli, that I was stunned and that he was a player of the future. I couldn’t be wrong. He was the new miracle of Argentine football, a true blessing. But since the papers were already prepared for Messi to play for Spain at the U20 World Cup—which would have blocked him forever—we had to act fast”.
The operation had to be carried out immediately. Pekerman also described the initial resistance he faced
“Tocalli told me he already had a settled team for the South American Championship (U20), which started in a month. “How can you tell me now there’s some new kid?’ he asked. I explained that he didn’t have to play if it wasn’t necessary—just appear in one friendly match, get his name in the official match report, and send everything to FIFA. And that was it—Spain never again! I also talked to the president of the FA, explained everything, told him Messi wanted to come, and we had to send a call-up to Barcelona immediately. We were under a FIFA rule that if a player appears for a youth national team, he can no longer play for another country. The papers were ready for Messi to play for Spain, and that’s when the ‘operational plan’ started” he said.
Pekerman then alerted the legendary federation president.
“I told Julio Grondona to find any opponent, that Tocalli was informed, but under one condition: the match had to be played at the Argentinos Juniors stadium. Because that’s where Diego Maradona played…” The friendly match was played, Lionel Messi wore the shirt, and Argentina demolished Paraguay 8–0. Spain lost the decisive battle. The rest is history. Lionel Messi went on to become Argentina’s all-time record holder with 196 caps (115 goals) and won the 2022 World Cup with the Albiceleste.
