Lionel Messi has always been one of the most coveted players throughout the world. It is believed that if you can acquire the signature of this Argentine game-maker, he does a boatload of work for you that all your attackers combined, cannot even think about pulling off.
Unfortunately, he pledged his allegiance to Barcelona for life and it never felt like the fact that the God who can pull off the craziest stunts at the snap of a finger, could have ever looked for a suitor in his lifetime.
However, things change and tectonics shift, thereby giving rise to a tide which was never there in the first place. That was exactly what unfurled in the case of the world’s best midfielder, Lionel Messi.
The downward spiral started on the cursed night when Bayern Munich thrashed Barcelona left and right, leaving them humiliated in Lisbon. This was the Catalan’s biggest defeat in the last 74 years and the brand of football which was offered by the Spanish stalwarts was nothing short of abysmal.
The dominoes effect kicked in right since the final whistle of the game blew with Setien being showed the exit within an hour of the game-ending. With speculations of legends like Massimilano Allegri or Mauricio Pochettino taking over the reins being squashed as former Everton boss, Ronald Koeman was appointed as the coach.
Much to the dislikes of everyone, the entire Barcelona squad was put up for sale barring four players, that was altogether an indicator of the fact that the inside rift has just imploded. However, that was nothing but just the tip of the iceberg.
A couple of nights later when we were all busy speculating that what could be the likeliest impact that Barcelona fans may have with the new management kicking in, there was a ripple effect that swept through the entire footballing roster of the world, with Messi asking out from his boyhood club after a glittering career of 17 years.
This, however, is an extremely controversial topic with the Catalan loyalists believing that this is nothing but another tantrum of Messi to remove Josep Bartomeu from the helm, while a few believe that the club has sunk neck-deep in hot waters politically which shows Bartomeu in the light of a villain and in order to save the club, he must leave.
As soon as this news got viral, all the clubs that have the money to splurge behind God were queued up with the best of their legal team and financers. The question that looms now above everything is where will Messi be headed in case if the release request is finally accepted? We will look at three likeliest clubs that can bring the God home in what would be a fabled move across the history of World football.
1. Manchester United
Right since the departure of their best manager, Sir Alex Ferguson and the team’s continuous descent from the perch that they were on, United has been perennially linked with the big names at the end of the every season. Honestly, fans start believing those rumours too, thereby allowing the lies to get a lot more traction than what would eventually turn into a heart-breaker.
However, all the link-ups that United has been previously placed are mainly with Ronaldo and other subsequent players. For the first time, Manchester United has been tipped to be linked with Lionel Messi.
More importantly, it came from none other but Fabrizio Romano who believes that the Red Devils can be in for a treat as they will now zero in on the Argentine sensation, keeping every other target aside.
Before this happened, they were hot contenders to sign either Jadon Sancho or the Juventus duo of Alex Sandro and Douglas Costa, but with the most lucrative option of Messi looming in front, they are willing to splurge anything and everything for the giant.
The inclusion of Messi will make their midfield probably one of the best in the world as it already boasts of players like Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
However, once again, all of it will depend on the fact that whether Barcelona lets Messi go or will it be a prolonged battle of legal counsel between two gigantic European clubs. No matter whatsoever unfolds, Woodward is already weighing in on his options of luring the God in.
2. Manchester City
The best and the likeliest contender to make Messi put his pen to the paper is Manchester City. There are two reasons for stating the same. Firstly, if they move for this Argentine superstar, it will be a reunion of Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi, which can play a massive factor in upstaging Messi to Etihad.
Secondly, they do have the financial background to lure the Argentine superstar in which will still allow them the leeway to sign another player, given their funds.
Now Messi partnering with Kevin De Bruyne can literally be the synonym for the world’s most destructive duo. Much to the joys of City, they do have the strikers who can kill the opportunities that these two can hand them over with.
Whether the Argentine striker wants to be part of Guardiola’s squad again or not, only time will reveal this, however, City is also willing to splurge everything that will not just win them a fortune but will open a door for them to financially elevate themselves to a level that others could only dream of.
3. Juventus
There is only one reason to believe that this move can happen, as this would bring the world to the Italian stalwarts. Fans across the world have always wanted these two stars to combine for one single outfit.
With Messi’s fate resigned to Barcelona, this move never seemed like a possibility unless Ronaldo decided to move to the Catalan stalwarts. However, as Messi has wanted exit from Barcelona, the Juventus board will heavily look forward to signing the Argentine sensation.
The team has been the undisputed champions of Italy for the last 9 years and their European dominance over the years has also underlined their brilliance in the due course of years.
Now with Andrea Pirlo returning to the club as the head coach after Sarri was shown the exit, the team is planning to undergo a major overhaul at the Juventus stadium.
Though the splurge for Messi can be a massive one, the inclusion of the talisman can literally mean the best duo of the world coming together, which would herald the unfurling of a new era for the Old Lady.
