It's tempting to think that Andres Iniesta has done it all.

The Barcelona midfielder is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished players of a generation, harbouring a passing prowess that is second to none.

Just think of what he's won: eight La Liga titles, a World Cup, two European Championships, four Champions Leagues. The list is endless.

If it weren't for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scooping up the Ballon d'Or every year, he'd probably have picked up that accolade too.

Like we said, it's tempting to think that when Iniesta looks back on his distinguished career, he can have no regrets.

However, it appears things could have panned out slightly differently.

There was an alternative path that the 32-year-old could have followed. One of the great 'what-ifs'.

Former Rangers boss Alex McLeish has been speaking to the Daily Record, and as you might suspect, the Scotsman used the opportunity to have a little name drop concerning the Blaugrana skipper.

Just imagine...

McLeish claims that the Spain international very nearly had the honour of replacing Barry Ferguson, who had just moved to Blackburn.

At that time, Rangers assistant Jan Wouters was acquainted with Frank Rijkaard, the former Barcelona manager, so he made an audacious bid to take the youth player on loan to Ibrox.

When Barca realised he was in demand, they immediately put him in the senior team, and the rest is history.

“Rangers were downsizing and I needed players of quality, who could take the ball in midfield," McLeish explained.

"Jan Wouters phoned Henk ten Cate, who was Rijkaard’s assistant at Barcelona. Jan asked if there was anybody we could get and was told about a young kid called Iniesta.

Iniesta needed minutes 

"He was only 18 at the time. We asked if we could bring him to Scotland and were told that they would try and make some hay at Barcelona and get him over to us.

"They said Iniesta needed to get some action."

What a story that would have been. As the Record are keen to point out, it worked wonders with Mikel Arteta, who left Barca to spend some of his formative years in Glasgow.

Rangers have had a tough few years, but it hasn't been for want of trying. Just to put the icing on the cake, McLeish added:

"We asked about bringing Messi to Rangers on loan [in 2004] and were told flatly: ‘No chance. Absolutely, no chance’.”

Where does Iniesta rank among the greats of his generation? Have your say in the comments.