The Argentine ace got word of Real Madrid's intentions via his attorney, who got in touch with the player's father to discuss a potential move.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing for the same team? Yes, that actually was a thought Florentino Pérez had a few years ago.

According to a report by Der Spiegel, Lionel Messi was a top transfer target for Real Madrid during the summer of 2013, when the Spanish giants tried to lure the player away from Los Blaugranas just like they did with Luis Figo a few years ago.

The plot to have "La Pulga" playing at the Bernabeu on a regular basis was allegedly brought to Jorge Messi's attention by his former lawyer, and Real Madrid's efforts to sign the Argentine would have gone up to paying Barcelona €250 million euros, the player's buyout clause back then.

Messi's "signing" would have prevented Gareth Bale's arrival to the team, since all negotiations began two months before the Welsh ace put pen to paper to his deal with Los Merengues. The report also states that Messi would have earned €23M with Los Blancos if he had signed the deal.

Other details of the alleged proposal included signing the deal while flying on a private jet, and a supposed lobby by Real Madrid's execs to have Messi's tax fraud charges cleared.