Lionel Messi dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when he requested a transfer out of Barcelona, with the talk of the soccer world immediately turning to where the superstar will end up.
Messi intends to activate a release clause that would allow him to join any club in the world without paying a transfer fee to Barca, although the Catalan club disputes the validity of the clause — meaning lawyers for both sides could get involved.
Regardless of what happens, it appears that Messi’s exit from the club with which he’s spent his entire professional career is much closer than anyone could’ve anticipated, and although he’s now 33, he’ll still have suitors from around the world lined up for his services.
Imagining Messi not wearing Barca’s iconic Blaugrana jersey is tough, but there are some teams that could be great fits should he ultimately leave Catalonia.
Manchester City
The English giants are the favourites to sign Messi for one reason: coach Pep Guardiola. OK, two reasons, Guardiola and the fact they are disgustingly rich. Backed by Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whose net worth is a nudge over $30 billion, the Citizens are one of the few clubs who could actually afford Messi’s wages. He is currently paid $1.8 million a week, according to Football Leaks. That’s just under $100 million a year, not including bonuses. So you can see why only a limited number of clubs in the world could afford to lure him.
Inter Milan
Another strong contender linked with Messi is Internazionale di Milano. In a sporting sense, this makes sense. Inter finished second in Italy’s Serie A behind Juventus, which has won the last nine titles and narrowly lost the Europa League final. The club has been building its squad in recent seasons and is hungry to knock Juventus off its perch domestically, and for success in Europe. The addition of Messi, joining an already exciting forward line of Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku, would almost guarantee this. And the club has a history of ambitious, big-money signings, including breaking the world-record transfer fee to bring in Brazilian superstar Ronaldo in 1997.
Paris Saint-Germain
It’s impossible to talk about ultra-wealthy clubs without mentioning arguably the wealthiest. PSG has shown willingness to use its financial might in order to lure high-profile stars to the French capital, and in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria it currently boasts the most expensive attacking trio in the history of the sport.
If money’s the deciding factor, then Messi’s chances of landing in Ligue 1 are extremely high. If it’s not, the opportunity to reunite with Neymar could still influence Messi’s decision — Barca’s recent efforts to reacquire the Brazilian after PSG spent a world-record fee to lure him away from Camp Nou have been in part to placate Messi, who was unhappy to lose Neymar as a teammate three years ago.
Juventus
This is much more of a Football Manager-style dream rather than a real possibility. For the better part of 15 years, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been considered 1 and 1A in terms of who’s the world’s best player — indeed, they’ve entered the realm of Greatest of All Time with their consistent attacking exploits — so even with both now in their mid-30s, the prospect of the two GOATs lining up as teammates is mouthwatering.
Let’s file this one under “unlikely to happen, but would be amazing if it did”.
Rumours of Messi’s unhappiness had been swirling since Bayern Munich humiliated Barcelona 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-final earlier in August, ending a season that saw the club fail to win any trophies.
Following that match, a source told Goal they had never seen Messi so dejected and frustrated, which the Argentine immediately communicated to several club executives.
