Barcelona’s 8-2 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich has triggered a series of behind the scenes battles at the Nou Camp which appear to have been simmering for a couple of years now.
BBC Sport report Messi has handed in a transfer request and is seeking to have his contract cancelled.
Within hours, Manchester United were linked. Spanish newspaper SPORT reported that United have been in contact with Messi’s entourage over a possible move.
Of course we are…
It is hard to imagine Messi playing for anybody else other than Barcelona, although this appears to be what may happen.
Messi may yet stay, if the Barcelona board resign. Fans were outside the Nou Camp last night protesting and calling for club president Josep Maria Bartomeu to quit.
United’s global status gives us a small chance of appealing to Messi, as does our recent qualification for the Champions League.
However it is hard to see the club managing to pull this deal off, when we have proved so inept in the transfer market so far this summer.
On the plus side, Messi may be one of the few players who American owners Joel and Avram Glazer have heard of. Signing him based on reputation may appeal in the same way they lured 43-year-old quarterback Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.
United have not made any transfer moves this summer, and while a move for Messi would quickly wipe out negativity, it is hard to imagine this actually happens. We would rate the chances as a 1/10 at best.
Manchester City, led by Messi’s former boss Pep Guardiola, probably stand a better chance, while Inter Milan are also said to be keen.
Incredibly high wages
Messi earns in the region of £1 million per week at Barcelona, The Times reported.
To match this would require a quite stupendous outlay from United, for a 33-year-old player.
Messi is not any ageing star, of course. Even this season he scored 31 goals and provided 26 assists. He is also no guarantee of success either, as an overwhelmed Barcelona recently discovered.
In theory United could afford Messi. The high wages of Alexis Sanchez have just been removed, and similarly aggressive moves could be made to rid the club of unnecessary high earners like Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, to free up wage space.
For many, the wages should be irrelevant. This is Lionel Messi. The chance to watch him play on a weekly basis at Old Trafford would be quite incredible. He would rake in millions for the club in revenue, from shirt sales, sponsorship, and global interest.
You find a way to make it work. Even take an extreme measure like selling David de Gea for a high fee, replacing him with Dean Henderson, who earns less than a third of the Spaniard’s a wages.
Likewise there would be no concern over where he would fit into the team. It would be important simply to get the deal done and worry about that afterwards. Messi is a one-off.
Where a move could backfire would be if Messi stayed around for 1-2 years, did not win anything, and the club’s finances were left in a terrible state.
Meanwhile Barcelona could use money saved on his wages to sign a young superstar like Jadon Sancho and come out the other side in a far better place, with United taking the hit.
This is the type of deal which would appeal to Ed Woodward, so we can fully believe he will be trying to enquire, crunch the numbers, and see if he can make it happen.
It would be a risk, and probably one worth taking. After all, how can you say no to arguably the greatest footballer of all time joining, if he genuinely wanted to, despite concerns about age and expenditure?
Do we think this deal has a chance of happening? No.
Are we surprised United have been linked with making a move? Not at all.
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