Blues owner Roman Abramovich desperate to bring Messi to the Premier League.
Chelsea have set the signing of former Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi their main target for 2015, report the Express, with Blues owner Roman Abramovich desperate to bring the Barcelona superstar to Stamford Bridge in a deal that is likely to cost his side an eye-watering £200 million.
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Messi has regularly been linked with a move to the Premier League in the past, but he has consistently opted to renew his contract at the Nou Camp rather than seek a new challenge elsewhere, although the current transitional period in Catalonia could well persuade him to pursue other options.
Abramovich and Chelsea are set to push ahead with an offer in the region of £200m for Messi, the report suggests, despite the fact that manager Jose Mourinho has consistently voiced his concerns about the club’s ability to comply with UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations.
Despite maintaining an exceptional goalscoring record for Barcelona and Argentina in 2014, there had been suggestions that Messi’s season had been less impressive than previous ones, although he did pick up the Golden Ball award at the World Cup, despite Argentina going down 1-0 to Germany in the final in Brazil.