Where will Lionel Messi play next?

Robin Bairner

6 Aug 2021 11:12 BST
3 min read

Lionel Messi, Barcelona, 2020/21 — © ProShots

Lionel Messi will no longer be a Barcelona player for the 2021/22 season.

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The club’s struggles to tie Messi down to a fresh contract have been known for months, yet there was an expectation that they could untie the knots and get a deal over the line.

It has proven impossible, though, and Barca have now indicated that they will have to part ways with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Where will Messi end up though?

Manchester City

A reunion with his former Barcelona mentor Pep Guardiola at Manchester City has long been speculated upon. The prospects of such a deal being done, however, would appear to be slim following City’s pick up of Jack Grealish for a Premier League record £100 million from Aston Villa.

Nevertheless, Guardiola would doubtless love to work with Messi again and the prospect of featuring in the Premier League must hold some appeal to the Argentine, who has been criticised in the past for his reticence to change clubs and leagues.

Man City certain have the financial backing to sign Messi, but an ongoing FFP investigation will complicate that.

PSG

Lionel Messi and Neymar, Copa America final 2021 — © ProShots

Messi has long been a dream of PSG owners QSI, who took over the Ligue 1 side a decade ago. Over the course of the last year, they have sent out very public messages of desire through various key players, and among their ranks they boast several of Messi’s Argentina team-mates. Furthermore, the attacker is good friends with Neymar and on Wednesday an image of him with a group of PSG stars was posted on Angel Di Maria’s Instagram page.

Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe is out of contract next season, with Real Madrid taking an interest. Could PSG feasibly sell Mbappe this summer and replace him with Messi? There’s certainly a possibility of it.

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel might be on the brink of capturing Romelu Lukaku for an enormous fee, but could Messi’s sudden and unexpected availability change the Blues’ transfer plans?

Tuchel might have wanted a player capable of playing with their back to goal, but Messi surely trumps Lukaku, while owner Roman Abramovich has shown in the past that he is willing to sign players based as much on their reputation as their tactical ability to fit into the side – see Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres.

Don’t rule them out.

Barcelona

The timing of Barcelona’s statement, combined with a similar one that came from Real Madrid, suggests that this could be a powerplay against La Liga, although Joan Laporta's statements on Friday may suggest otherwise.

However, given their dramatic debts, could they really afford Messi’s €100m-per-year wages even if there was no salary cap? Even at half that price, Messi appears an extravagance that Barca cannot afford.