The impossible may just become possible this summer, should Lionel Messi decide to sever ties with Barcelona. Arguably the greatest footballer of all time - and certainly Barca’s best-ever player - he seems less than enamoured with the club’s board, as he alleged they put him and his team-mates under pressure to take a 70 per cent pay cut due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Messi argued that the squad was always going to agree to take a hit on their wages but, added to his February fall-out with sporting director Eric Abidal, it would not be unrealistic to envisage him departing the Camp Nou.
It could be, however, that a former team-mate comes to the rescue in the shape of Xavi, a Barca legend who has been touted as a replacement for manager