This was always one of those rumours that a Rangers fan tells you in the pub and you laugh heartily in their face before buying them another pint to quell their delusions but it turns out that it's true! Rangers did indeed have the opportunity to sign Lionel Messi on loan when he was just a young whipper-snapper at Barcelona. How did they identify such a prodigious talent? Easy: Alex McLeish's son spotted him coming through the ranks on Football Manager. McLeish told The Football Manager Documentary:
"He told me that this guy was going to be the best player in the world. And I said 'okay, son'. Pat on the head. And let him get on with it..."
Of course, Messi has gone on to become arguably the greatest player to ever play the game and Big Eck is now manager at Genk.
