Lionel Messi: Arsenal targeted Barcelona forward - Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger confirms he tried to sign Lionel Messi as part of a triple swoop for some of Barcelona's top young talent.

Messi was 15 at the time and an academy team-mate of Gerard Pique and future Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Wenger dismissed suggestions that the potential deal collapsed over an accommodation issue for Messi and his family, saying: "It was not completely down to a flat in the end. It was down to the fact that Messi was comfortable at Barcelona."