Messi’s last hurrah should be in the Prem, and his final stop... Old Trafford
ONE of this footballing generation’s great unanswered questions will be whether Lionel Messi can do it on a cold, wet, windy night in Stoke.
Not because there is little chance of Messi ever moving to the Premier League. But because there is almost no chance at all of Stoke City being in the top flight before he hangs up his boots.
Messi, it seems, is again unhappy at Barcelona. That is normally the preamble to another contract.
A cooling of relations with whoever happens to be coach at the time, power struggles in the boardroom, salary numbers off the scale from elsewhere, Messi stays with an even bigger deal. That is the routine. Standard.
Visualising Messi in anything bar the Barcelona livery is not realistic, but even by Camp Nou standards, the rumours of his current discontent are unusually strong.
To such an extent that there are even suggestions Juventus might try and pair him with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Surely there is more chance of him moving to Stoke and being paired with Sam Vokes? But in the unlikely event Messi does decide to end a stay with Barcelona of almost two decades, who should be bidding for his services?
There are plenty with the appropriate amount of money to throw at him. Imagine the offers from Chinese clubs.
Marouane Fellaini is getting a million pounds a month, for goodness sake.
Messi could write his own cheque in China and the largesse on offer from the likes of Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich would also be grand.
Germany’s dominant club is rumoured to be paying Leroy Sane more than £250,000 a week after he signed for them.
Although there is said to be an escape clause at the end of this season, Messi’s Barca contract expires next summer when he turns 34.
In his condition and form, that is still too early to be taking a golden handshake from a Chinese club.
There would still be time for Messi to give two or three years of his brilliance to a Premier League side. Best league in the world, most competitive league in the world, most entertaining league in the world, most watched league in the world, we have heard it all – mainly from those with a paid, vested interest in the Premier League.
Wonder if Messi thinks the same? After the tax evasion saga, there was a moment when it seemed Manchester City might be able to recruit him AND Pep Guardiola. And if Messi does decide to leave Barcelona, you would think City would again be in the hunt.
But Pep has less than a year of his contract left, and if City’s two-year European ban is upheld, there will be no Champions League until the 2022-23 season.
Having seen them up close and personal, Messi must have been impressed by Liverpool and, boy, what a statement that would be.
But the most powerful statement would come from along the M62. As fanciful as it sounds, Manchester United should be leading the pack if Messi is to end his career @PhilFoden “Congratulations to Liverpool for this year but we definitely showed we’re
ready for next season.” away from Catalonia. They would have to reclaim a Champions League spot first, but as one of the selfproclaimed biggest clubs in the world, it would remiss of them not to be in the mix if Messi was available.
With a global network of blue-chip sponsors, they could offer the commercial deal Messi would need, and give him the chance to truly revive a giant.
That would quieten a noisy neighbour.
Ed Woodward is making small steps towards repairing his reputation in the eyes of United fans. Being in the hunt for Messi would be a giant stride.
Look, we all know the most likely ending, but if he wants a last hurrah here then United should be the first to offer it to him.