Today marks the 30th birthday of Barcelona's Lionel Messi who has been one of the best players on the planet for the past ten years since his rise to the club's first team.

The story of Messi's journey to becoming one of the best footballers in the world today is well known, as he was taken from Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina by the Catalan giants as a 13-year-old.

Diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child, Barcelona agreed to pay for his medical treatment in his move to the club and the rest, as they say, is history. Horacio Gaggioli, the player's agent at the time, has said, however, the move could have gone a lot differently.

According to Globoesporte, via the Daily Mirror, Messi could have actually moved to his current team's La Liga rivals Real Madrid 17 years ago, as the agent almost moved to Madrid instead of Barcelona.

Gaggioli, who played a big part in Messi's move to Spain, has said he things could have been a lot different in the world of football if he had decided to move to the Spanish capital instead.

He said: "Due to life circumstances, I went to live in Barcelona and I brought him to Barca for a trial. But I was about to live in Madrid.

"If that had happened, I would have taken him to Madrid for a trial. That's life, those are the details. Today, Messi could have been a Real Madrid player, of course.

"The family wanted to come to Spain, to the city where I was to have some support."

17 years on, and Messi is one of the best footballers the world has ever seen, as he has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country, winning eight La Liga titles, four Champions League trophies and five Ballon d’Or awards.

It now looks like he'll never leave the club, but it's also fair to say things could have been a lot different in Spanish football if Messi was wearing the white of the Los Blancos, rather than the blue and red of Barca.