Manchester United have approached Barcelona two times in the past three weeks in an attempt to land Lionel Messi.
Barcelona have received offers from Manchester United for a potentially shocking move that would see their Argentinean legend Lionel Messi move to England. According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United have shown keen interest in buying arguably the best player in world. The report also indicates that any deal won’t be possible until next summer as United first look at getting back into the Champions League for the 2017/18 season.
The representatives of the star player haven’t out-rightly denied the chance of a transfer. Lionel Messi has been a heavily criticized public figure due to his on-going legal battle with the authorities regarding tax evasion and has appeared in court multiple times, even as recently as 2 days ago. Messi and his father are accused of opening a chain of fake companies in order to evade tax in the range of £3.2million.
It will be interesting to see whether Lionel Messi would look to work with Jose Mourinho and most importantly, join the fierce rivals of his former boss Pep Guardiola. The rivalry between the two managers has been well documented over the years and wherever they’ve managed, they’ve captivated audience to produce footballing encounters that are unforgettable.
If any deal were to take place between the clubs, it would easily break the £85m world record transfer fee paid by Real Madrid to secure the services of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur. The release clause for Lionel Messi, according to Barcelona daily Sport, is believed to be somewhere in the range of €250 million. It says that it highly unlikely that any club would be willing to pay that high a transfer amount along with the potential wages that Lionel Messi would demand. Currently, Lionel Messi is on around £500,000 a week salary before tax which makes him the highest earning footballer in the world.
Pondering the financial consequences of this world record deal
It is also possible that Manchester United will approach Adidas in order to help move this deal along. This mega transfer could be potentially huge for both the club and their main kit-sponsors. Manchester United already earn a mammoth £75m-a-year from Adidas alone. Manchester United are currently valued at £2.23 billion and although a deal for Messi would hit their cash reserves significantly, it would also give an incredible boost to the merchandise sales, share values and their brand image around the world. Manchester United, being a publicly listed club, has taken a considerable hit in its shares and valuation since the departure of their long-serving manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Any move for Lionel Messi would give the Mancunian side a huge monetary and psychological boost in their bid to reclaim the Premier League crown.
