Portugal has revealed that someone close to the future Barcelona star brought the possibility of a move to the Santiago Bernabéu to the club. Although he stressed that he could not confirm whether the approach was genuine, information reached Madrid suggesting they could attempt to secure the teenager's services.
"There was a moment when they could have got involved. At the beginning of the 2000s, in 2001 specifically, he still didn't have a professional contract with Barcelona and hadn't quite completed his renewal. Someone close to him offered him to Madrid," Portugal explained in an interview with AS.
"I don't know whether it was true or false, but the information reached the club that they could go after him. It was there. We didn't want to break relations with Barcelona, but there was an approach. Although, out of respect, I don't think it would have happened."
The revelation offers a glimpse of how close Madrid may have come to exploring a move for a player who would go on to become Barcelona's greatest modern-era figure. Messi remained at the Catalan club, developing through its academy before establishing himself in the first team and building a career that transformed the club's history.
Portugal was in a position to understand the scouting landscape at Madrid. He had followed young players across different countries and was involved in identifying talent long before his spell as the club's technical secretary between 2007 and 2009.
His knowledge of Argentina's emerging generation was particularly relevant. Portugal recalled watching the country's Under-20 side, which included Messi alongside future stars such as Sergio Agüero and Ezequiel Garay.
"I was watching the Argentina Under-20 team at the time and it was an incredible group: Garay, Agüero, Messi," he said. "But he was playing for Barcelona."
Portugal's comments suggest that Madrid were aware of Messi's potential while he was still developing in Spain, even if the possibility of bringing him to the Bernabéu never progressed into a transfer.
The former Madrid official also discussed other players whose development he followed during his scouting work. He recalled that the club had reports on Neymar and Philippe Coutinho, while Toni Kroos had been monitored as a teenager.
"We watched Neymar and Coutinho and they were always recommended. The reports will be somewhere," Portugal said. He also remembered seeing Kroos at 16, when the German was playing as an attacking midfielder, and Luka Modrić during the early stages of his development.
His account of Messi, however, is the most striking. The possibility emerged at a moment when the teenager had yet to establish himself professionally, but Madrid ultimately chose not to pursue a move that could have damaged relations with their rivals.
Messi went on to become synonymous with Barcelona, while Real Madrid's missed opportunity remains an intriguing piece of transfer history. Portugal's recollection does not establish that a deal was close, but it confirms that the possibility of approaching the young Argentine reached the club in 2001.