Graeme Souness dropped a bombshell when wrote Manchester United and Manchester City should hurry up making a move for unsettled Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
Messi, who until the beginning of the 2019/20 season seemed to be increasingly heading towards a single-club career, is now having second thoughts over his future at Barcelona.
The 33-year-old has less than a year left on his contract at Camp Nou but could call time on his journey in Catalonia after suffering another heartbreaking campaign.
A scandalous season and an equally embarrassing Champions League humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich have thrown Messi’s future at Camp Nou into further doubt.
Humiliation could be an understatement given how the Argentinean must be feeling after seeing his side dismantled by rampant Bundesliga heavyweights.
Former Liverpool great Graeme Souness believes the Champions League debacle could be the final straw as he sees Messi leaving Barcelona after almost 20 years.
“Lionel Messi looked like a man who has had enough of carrying that team,” he wrote in The Times. “Without him, they wouldn’t even be good enough to qualify for the Champions League.”
Souness then moved on to urge both Manchester clubs to try to bring the Argentina captain to the Premier League this summer.
“This would be the perfect week to put a bid in for the 33-year-old Argentinian, and I could easily see him playing in Manchester — at either United or City.”
While Manchester United have never displayed any interest in Messi, their cross-town rivals are reportedly willing to do everything in their power to land the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Not only Manchester City, but Inter Milan are also credited with an interest in one of the best players of all time.