Amid the coronavirus outbreak that halted football games in Europe, clubs are on the lookout for Lionel Messi following reports that the Barcelona superstar could be moving out of Spain soon and continue his greatness elsewhere. The next destination for the Argentine could be in England where he is rumored to reunite with Pep Guardiola.
While already 32, Messi remains an attraction for the European elite clubs. His 18 years of playing for Camp Nou made him a living legend although there are contentions that the Little Magician is still not part of the circle of football gods.
Because a World Cup trophy is still not in the personal collection of Messi, AS said the Barca captain is an outsider as far as the Magnificent Seven is concerned. The club is comprised of Bobby Charlton, Gerd Müller, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Rossi, Kaká, Ronaldinho, and Zinedine Zidane - all winners of the Champions League, the Ballon d'Or, and the World Cup.
Notwithstanding, clubs will be happy to have Messi if indeed he will be departing from Spain soon. His recent fight with Eric Abidal, Barcelona's sporting director, only fired up speculations that the skipper has become unhappy with his current team and might be looking for a big change.
According to Goal, while Messi is tied up with Barcelona until next year there is a window for him to jump ship and he can opt for that with no cost to the club he plans to join up with.
"It has ... been revealed recently that Messi could be able to walk away from the club due to a certain clause in his current contract, and that he could be a free agent this summer," said the report.
The said clause, if activated, will permit the Argentine to look for a new home at the conclusion of a season provided he allowed a 30-day notice in advance. To be clear, however, there is no indication that Messi intends to make use of the reported way out.
But interested clubs are monitoring the situation, which is the case for Manchester United. The Red Devils are in the middle of beefing up their strike force and Messi working with Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, and possibly Paul Pogba would create a blockbuster scenario for the Premier League club.
The realistic destination for Messi though, in case he is trying out English football next, is Manchester City and simply because Guardiola runs things in the club.
The Spanish boss might be entertaining the idea of working again with Messi but he is more inclined to see the forward ending his playing days with the Catalan giants.
"He is a player from Barcelona and he will stay there, that's my wish for him to stay there ... I think he will finish his career there, that's my wish," Guardiola was reported as saying.
