Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague recently announced that it seems Lionel Messi is more open to a move to the Premier League than ever before. The Argentine Magician is currently under contract with Barcelona until 2017 and has a reported buyout clause of €250m. However, off the field issues, such as the fact he is due to face trial for alleged tax fraud, mean that Messi is more susceptible to leaving the club he joined back in 2001 than he was a few years ago. Reports in the English national papers claim Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are all trying to persuade Messi to make the move to England.
While we all know the chances of Messi actually making the move from La Liga to the Premier league are still quite slim, it’s still worth taking a look at which of the teams who are reportedly interested would be the best fit for the four-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Which English team would be the best fit for Lionel Messi?
Chelsea
With Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich’s money, Chelsea are only one of three teams in the Premier League who could afford even to attempt to sign Lionel Messi, and even then they would probably have to sell Eden Hazard to do so. But financial means aside, how would he fit in?
Messi could play numerous roles in Chelsea’s normal 4-2-3-1 set up, starting either wide right as he has begun again to do so at the Camp Nou, or in his favoured number 10 role where he would have the freedom to roam, or he could even play as the lone striker, replacing Diego Costa. Messi is not a typical Mourinho player. The Portuguese manager, when looking at most of his sides prefers, to have hard working team players compared to having one out-and-out star player. While undoubtedly Messi is a team player, especially while going forward looking to provide for others, there would be problems with the defensive responsibilities that would be required of him.
Mourinho asks his attacking midfielders and forwards to track back on a frequent basis and keep the team’s shape while defending. This is something that is not really in Messi’s game. According to Squawka last season Messi made only seven interceptions and 23 tackles in 38 La Liga games last season, compared to 13 interceptions by and 30 tackles by Chelsea’s Willian. The Brazilian Oscar made 15 interceptions and 42 tackles in ten games fewer than the Argentine. This highlights the level of defensive duties that are required for a midfield man under the “Special One”. Mourinho is not afraid of leaving out big players because of their lack of defensive discipline, as he stated after the Aston Villa game.
“I left out Hazard because we are conceding lots of goals. This Leaving super quality on the bench, but bringing tactical discipline and hoping the team could be solid. I continue that way or [Hazard] comes in our direction and tries to emulate the same work that Willian and Oscar put in.”
This could lead to a difficult relationship between Messi and Mourinho as both have been known for falling out with their respected managers and players when relationships become strained. Both of them have strong personalities, in different ways, and that could possibly become a problem if the move were to happen.
While there would be a big chance that a move to Chelsea would lead to a very successful period for both club and player, Chelsea may not be the best destination for the little number ten.
Manchester United
Buoyed by their massive £750m Adidas kit deal and a great number of commercial sponsors, Manchester United are in pole position financially to sign Messi while still abiding by the FIFA Financial Fair Play regulations. If the move ever came to fruition, it would undoubtedly be the biggest signing of the “Gaalatico” era.
Playing a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 Messi could be expected to slot seamlessly into the United line-up and would be required to play a similar false winger position to the one that is currently occupied by Juan Mata — a role that he has been asked to occupy at times for Barcelona. Messi would give the United attack the dynamism it has been crying out for with his incisive runs and threaded passes, as last season he averaged just under five successful take-ons and created two and a half chances a game, more than any current United player managed last season.
The style of play United are currently playing under Louis van Gaal would be a familiar one and would help accommodate Messi’s adaptation to the Premier League, as van Gaal introduced a similar style to Barcelona throughout the first team to La Masia during his two spells at Barcelona, which Guardiola later adapted during his very successful stint in charge of the Blaugrana with Messi at the forefront.
Manchester United has proved not to be a place where South American players have enjoyed themselves, with fellow Argentines such as Juan Sebastian Veron and Messi’s national team-mate Angel Di Maria struggling before moving on. Messi may also be deterred by van Gaal’s treatment of his former Barcelona team-mate and friend, Victor Valdés.
Manchester City
With Sheik Mansour’s net worth of around £17 billion, Manchester City are the last team in the Premier League who can actually afford to acquire the services of the Argentine. Manchester City also look like the most obvious destination for him to go if he ever left Barcelona. Messi would be able to play with his good friends Sergio Agüero and Pablo Zabaleta with whom he has played since his early days in the Argentina set up.
When Messi was first joining the Argentine youth teams he would often share a room with Agüero, and the friendship has only grown with them often going on holiday together with their respected partners. This would seemingly make settling in to his new surroundings much easier for the notoriously quiet and reserved star and his family.
City’s free flowing 4-3-3 formation is probably best suited to get the best out of Messi as well. The composure and vision of David Silva can replicate that of Andrés Iniesta; Vincent Kompany is a leader in the mould of Carles Puyol, with Fernandinho capable of performing the Busquets role in midfield. City’s plethora of attacking stars would work best to emulate that of Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar at Barcelona and the Argentina would have a free role to switch positions and link up with the likes of David Silva, Agüero and Kevin De Bruyne. This also means that there would not be as much of a reliance on Messi as there would be at either Manchester United or Chelsea.
Reports linking ex-Barcelona and current Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola to the Manchester City job also increases the chances of a successful partnership between Manchester City and Messi. The two enjoyed the best spells of their career together when Guardiola was in charge of Barcelona from 2008-2012, winning 14 trophies in four seasons together. Guardiola knows Messi’s best position, how to manage the iconic star, and if they were both to join Manchester City they would have a good chance of replicating their past successes together.
For all three of these clubs signing arguably the best player ever to play the game is still nothing more than a pipedream, and publicly Messi has stated many times his desire to retire at the Catalan club. However, if he ever were to leave, Manchester City looks like the best fit, and he could finally get the chance to prove his critics wrong and perform in the Premier League.
