Chelsea fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern are looking stunned as The Sun claim they could actually land Lionel Messi.
However as with many stories, there is a bit of a sting in the tail given the Barcelona player is willing to listen to offers but only if the total package on offer to him and current club Barcelona reaches an astronomical £500 million.
Obviously there are really only a couple of clubs in the world who can afford a figure like that and the two are obviously the Blues and Manchester City.
As our landlord notes over a beer and some bar snacks, there is no denying that Messi would be a huge coup for either of these sides but the fact remains – that is a ridiculous amount of money.
We are also certain that Financial Fair Play rules would be breached and given City are already in hot water over their spending antics, splashing £200 million on a single transfer alone would raise eyebrows.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have stayed within their Financial Fair Play boundaries thus far but capturing Messi would cause them a couple of problems to say the least but as our punters note, it is Messi which makes it worth it.
