Chelsea would be interested in signing Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi if he were to leave the Catalan giants next summer, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
Balague dropped the bombshell on his YouTube channel as the La Liga expert said: “Chelsea, definitely in the equation if Messi becomes available.”
Valued at £90m by Transfermarkt, the Argentina genius is in the final year of his deal at the Nou Camp, meaning he could leave on a free next summer; and he was public in his desire to leave Barca during the summer amid off-field chaos.
Manchester City, managed by Messi’s former coach Pep Guardiola, were believed to be frontrunners for the 33-year-old, and Balague believes that interest would be renewed, saying: “Would City try again? Yes, they would. Obviously, there’s no transfer fee attached to it now.”
Frank Lampard will know all about Messi’s ability, having played against him on numerous occasions, usually watching on as the Barca man put the Blues defence to the sword.
Messi has three goals and two assists from his eight La Liga outings this term, even though Barcelona are floundering somewhat in 13th in the table.
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Despite his advancing years and frankly eye-watering wages, opportunities to sign one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen don’t present themselves all that often.
Even with two seasons of Messi not at the peak of his powers, Chelsea would still be getting a phenomenal player who would likely recoup the club his wages in shirt sales and other endorsements.
Chelsea made a host of signings last summer but this one would eclipse them all.
With 640 club career goals in 742 appearances, not to mention 71 at international level, should the Blues and Roman Abramovich partake in any conversation with the Argentina legend, it should likely go down very well among the Stamford Bridge faithful.
