Unlikely Liverpool star was targeted by PSG before Messi signing

The 2021 summer transfer window will undoubtedly be remembered for more reasons than one.

Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona after almost two decades shook the footballing world, but was arguably trumped by Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational return to Manchester United in the final days of the window.

Messi was just one of a number of high profile arrivals at Paris Saint-Germain over the summer, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Gini Wijnaldum and Achraf Hakimi all also signing for the French giants.

However, it now appears that PSG had targeted a Premier League midfielder before their swoop for Messi.

According to The Here We Go Podcast, Jordan Henderson was a target for the French side, who also signed his former Liverpool teammate Wijnaldum.

Fabrizio Romano suggested that PSG had attempted to bring the Liverpool skipper to the French capital, before the opportunity to sign Messi camp up.

He also suggested that PSG’s search for a midfielder had taken them to Paul Pogba, but that the situation with him and Manchester United was too complicate and a deal wasn’t plausible.

Henderson, however, was reported at the time to have reached a stalemate in talks over a contract extension with the Reds, and PSG therefore believed that they may have been able to lure the Englishman to Paris.

After the big money move for the Argentine, however, the French side withdrew their interest in the midfielder, and he has since agreed a four-year extension with the club.