Chelsea are reportedly set to rival Manchester City in the race for Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
Messi, 33, has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona after joining their youth academy all the way back in 2000.
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Since his arrival in Spain, the world-class South American has enjoyed a career littered with silverware, both individually and collectively.
Messi’s extraordinary career has seen him become one of, if not, the, greatest player ever to grace the beautiful game.
However, in a saga which was once unimaginable, Messi looks set not to finish his glittering career with the club where it all began.
A summer of turmoil at Barcelona and increased financial strains saw Messi come close to throwing the towel in as the Argentinian looked for a way out.
Speculation began to mount but after the 33-year-old gave Goal an exclusive interview confirmed he would remain at the Nou Camp for at least one more seasons, Messi’s proposed sensational switch away was postponed.
However, as the January window fast approaches, the rumours linking Messi away all ready began with the latest coming from journalist Guillem Balague.
According to Balague, Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are ‘in the equation’ to sign Messi, which follows the forward also being linked with Manchester City by the Daily Mirror.
It has also been reported that despite Chelsea’s whopping £230m summer spending, they still remain keen on bringing Messi to London with the finances of any proposed deal thought not to be a problem.
Fans of the Premier League would surely relish the chance to see Messi at either City or Chelsea before he hangs up his boots.
Even if he’s not been at his best this season, Messi linking up with former boss Guardiola again at City could be a sight to behold, and would majorly help them after their slow start to the season.
Chelsea have plenty of options up front but there’s surely always room for a superstar like Messi, who would surely enjoy linking up with talents like Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.