5. Manchester United
City is not the only club in England or even Manchester who harbor ambitions of signing Messi if the latest rumors are to be believed. According to beIN sports contributor and prominent Italian football journalist Tancredi Palmeri, Manchester United is one of the clubs that has thrown its hat in the ring by contacting Messi’s father to sound out the possibility of a move to Old Trafford.
Is a move to Manchester possible? Sure. Manchester United, much like the other clubs on this list, is one of the richest teams in the world and certainly has the history of a club that demands respect. They will be playing Champions League football next season, and have an exciting young squad that looks set to challenge Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea for the Premier League title in the coming years. But is it probable? Not very. Despite the feelings around the club being more positive than perhaps any other time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Manchester United is still very much a club in transition and is not seen as the ultimate destination for a footballer’s career like they once were.
The chances of Lionel Messi seeing a move to the red side of Manchester as an appealing one are not very high on their own, and they are further diminished because of United’s extremely public pursuit of Jadon Sancho. The Borussia Dortmund star and England international has been at the top of United’s transfer list for a while, and while many believe United will eventually be able to convince Sancho to swap Germany for his home country, the move is taking longer than United would have hoped and is not certain to happen yet, at least.
While clubs often have several players in mind when pursuing purchases in the transfer market, we don’t think United is willing to drop their chase for Sancho to try and entice Messi instead. There’s just very little chance of this move coming together for too many reasons.
Chances of a move: 1/10
4. Paris Saint-Germain
Manchester City isn’t the only club in the world that has the riches to entice a player of Messi’s reputation and pedigree. And while Paris Saint-Germain has yet to scale the heights of Messi’s current club, nor can they offer him the same standard of domestic football, they can point to their efforts in this past season’s Champions League as proof that PSG is finally going places.
The world’s fifth-richest club in terms of revenue in 2020 according to Deloitte (€635.9 million), PSG aren’t afraid to throw their weight around the transfer market and would not be second-guessed for an attempt to reunite Messi with his former FC Barcelona teammate, Neymar. Following their Champions League Final loss to Bayern Munich, PSG boss Thomas Tuchel received questions about his interest in signing Messi. He responded by saying “He’s very welcome. What coach says no to Messi?” Although Tuchel would go on to express his doubts about Messi ever leaving Barcelona, PSG are one of the only clubs in the world who could theoretically afford Barcelona’s number 10 and are monitoring the situation closely.
A front-three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi would be the most dangerous in world football. Messi’s desire for success in the Champions League may only be eclipsed by PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s, and it’s difficult not to think that the addition of a player of Messi’s caliber would be too hard to pass up as PSG chase the holy grail of their first-ever major European glory. The only question is, how interested would Messi be in spending the last years of his prime in Ligue 1?
We’re not incredibly convinced he is all that intrigued by that prospect unless stronger rumors begin to emerge.
Chances of a move: 3/10
3. Inter Milan
How fun would this be? Many football fans were incredibly disappointed when Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus two years ago, as it represented the end of the yearly Messi-Ronaldo duels. But a move to Inter and Serie A would rekindle that rivalry spectacularly. The good news is Messi moving to Inter isn’t just something that we’ve made up – there is serious, concrete interest on Inter’s part to bring Messi to Milan.
Rumors of Messi moving to Inter were originally sparked by reports that he and his father had bought homes in Milan, making the notion of a move in the works quite literal. The Italian side has also supposedly earmarked €260 million to make the purchase of Messi possible, which may be far more than required if it turns out that a transfer fee won’t be necessary to capture his services. The potential arrival of Messi is a tantalizing one for a club with the ambitions of Inter, who are desperate to end Juventus’ stranglehold on Serie A and return to the heights of European football that they reached a decade or so ago.
Italy is certainly the friendliest option for Messi. It’s a place where he can enjoy top-level football as he gets older without sacrificing too much of a dip in quality with regards to the competition. The continued success that players like the aforementioned Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have had in the twilight of their careers shows that top players who are still performing at a high-level can still play for some of the biggest clubs in world football well into their mid-to-late 30’s.
While we rate the chances of Messi either moving to City or staying at Barcelona higher, we think Inter does still have a shot too.
2. Barcelona
Even when rumors started to emerge a few months ago that Messi was entertaining the idea of leaving the club at the end of his contract next summer, it seemed a bit far-fetched. Ever since making his first-team debut for the club way back in 2003, the only shirt Lionel Messi has ever worn professionally has been the Blaugrana of FC Barcelona (besides Argentina of course). Messi holds the club record for most goals (634), assists (276), has made the second-most appearances behind Xavi (731), and has won 10 league titles, 4 Champions League trophies, and 6 Copa Del Rey. We could go on and on about the impact that Lionel Messi has had on Barcelona, but put succinctly, he is the greatest player to ever grace the pitch at the Nou Camp and it would be an unmitigated disaster for Barcelona’s leadership if Messi were to suddenly depart this summer.
While it’s clear Messi loves the club and has the adoration of Barcelona fans across the world, his relationship with club leadership hasn’t always been the smoothest and has deteriorated even further over the past year. When former manager Ernesto Valverde was dismissed in January, Messi hit out at recently sacked Barcelona Sporting Director Eric Abidal’s accusation that “many players weren’t satisfied or working hard” under Valverde, stating in an Instagram post, “The people in the sporting directorate should also assume their responsibility and above all take ownership of the decisions they make…I think that when players are talked about, names should be given because, if not, we are all being dirtied and it feeds comments that are made and are not true.”
According to @Alfremartinezz, FCB preparing response to burofax
Most logical solution: resignation of chairman JM Bartomeu, early elections and Messi stays
But all that in the hands of a questioned board and chairman who otherwise could end up era with a high profile court case
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) August 25, 2020
Messi’s unhappiness regarding the Valverde situation, as well as sporting concerns raised by the 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich, tensions with Antoine Grizemann, and a general lack of direction shown by the club in recent years, has Messi’s departure from the club feeling more likely to happen than ever before. But, Messi’s relationship with Barcelona is so intertwined that we think there still is a chance something could be worked out. And according to La Liga expert Guillem Ballague, the resignation of Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu in conjunction with early elections for his replacement could be two steps the club takes to keep the club’s greatest ever player around just a little bit longer.
The odds may be worse than they have ever been before for Messi to be in a Barcelona shirt, but there still is a definite possibility he’s still around next season.
Chances of Messi staying: 6/10
- Manchester City
Is it any surprise that Manchester City sits at the top of the list? Managed by Messi’s former boss at FC Barcelona, Pep Guardiola, City’s financial prowess ensures it is always at the forefront of any conversation regarding the world’s top talent. City have spent £1.5 billion on transfers in the past decade, and don’t appear to be showing any signs of slowing down in the market after winning their FFP appeal against UEFA earlier this summer. All of the attention has been on Manchester City ever since Messi’s request to leave Barcelona became public, with news trickling out of Argentina earlier this morning that personal terms were already agreed. The project at Manchester City would be an enticing one, allowing Messi to test his talents in one of the world’s most demanding leagues while also playing for a side that should be a contender for the Champions League for years to come, despite their inability to break through past the quarter-finals to this point.
Although there has been no official confirmation of talks between Messi and City due to questions surrounding the Argentine’s ability to move without Barcelona’s approval, reports of a conversation taking place between Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola prior to Messi putting in a request to terminate his contract with Barcelona, as well as the latest rumors regarding conversations between Manchester City and Lionel Messi’s father Jorge make it clear that City is the current favorites for Messi’s signature.
Rumors are also circulating of a long-term contract that includes a clause that would allow him to leave Manchester City for NYCFC in three years. City Holding Group, which owns both clubs, has previously used this partnership to their advantage to entice players to sign for the club. This clause would see him become an official ambassador for NYCFC should he decide to make the move to America and would likely include some form of ownership stake or financial incentive, much like the deal that brought David Beckham to the L.A. Galaxy in the mid-2000s.
The Guardiola connection, the fact that Man City can actually afford him, and all the rumors we’ve heard so far leads us to believe Manchester City is where Lionel Messi will be playing football next season.
Chances of a move: 8/10
