Lionel Messi is now being eyed by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich who is said to have ‘requested an urgent meeting’ with his representatives, according to reports.
On Thursday, Barcelona made the shocking confirmation that Messi will leave the club, after failing to renew his contract due to the financial regulations in Spain.
What this means is that the player is a free agent, with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain the obvious suitors.
But, PSG may not be able to meet his wage demands and Man City have just spent a whooping £100m on Jack Grealish, while they are also in the pursuit of Harry Kane.
According to AS in Spain, Abramovich has ‘set his eyes’ on signing Messi and has ‘requested an urgent meeting’ with his team.
It is known that Chelsea are strongly in the market for a new striker with Erling Haaland a key target at the start of the summer. As the Norwegian star is set to stay at Dortmund, they are believed to have switched focus to Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku.
However, the shocking news about Messi’s sudden availability is said to have opened up another option for the Blues.
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The report claims that Chelsea are continuing negotiations for Lukaku while also exploring the possibility of signing Messi this summer.
PSG are said to be the front-runners, but other reports have claimed a move to France is ‘almost impossible’ due to high taxes and the Ligue 1 club’s need to reduce their wage bill.
It has been widely speculated that Messi may prefer a move to City, who just broke the British transfer record to sign Grealish, where the forward could link up with Pep Guardiola.
If this is the case, Chelsea owner Abramovich will be hoping to convince the Argentine superstar otherwise.
