5 ideal clubs for Lionel Messi if they could activate his release clause
Let’s get one thing straight here; no club in the world is going to spend €250m (£217m) on one player – at least not for another decade or two. Barcelona inserted that gargantuan release clause into Lionel Messi’s contract for one reason alone – just in case.
But what if every club in the world rubbed a long-forgotten lamp and had a genie give them all that money just to sign Messi and pay those high wages that come with the package? Which club would be the ideal club for him? We look at five destinations for the Argentine forward if he ever left the Camp Nou under such circumstances.
Note: Only clubs that regularly play in the Champions League have been considered (obviously).
1) Napoli
“Leo...MES-SI! Leo...MES-SI! Leo...MES-SI!”
Apart from simply looking forward to hearing the famous Stadio San Paolo explode and chant his name when he scores a goal, there are a couple of other reasons why the club in Naples is a good shout.
Firstly, if he were to move to the Italian Serie A, why would you want him at Juventus? Nobody wants that – it would kill a league that is slowly starting to gain prominence after a few years in the European wilderness.
Secondly, ever since the downfall of the two Milan giants, Napoli have been one the main contenders to give Juventus a run for their money. In fact, they were even crowned winter champions last season before imploding and losing out on their best chance to land their first title since 1990.
Gli Azzurri have pretty much stuck to a 4-3-3 formation this season but remove Jose Callejon and put in Messi alongside Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne and you’re looking at another frightening trio that would make Europe defenders nervous.
Lastly, there is also the proverbial handing over of the torch from one of Napoli's all-time greats – Diego Maradona. The Argentine striker had previously helped Napoli win their only two Serie A titles in 1986/87 and 1989/90. Messi could do the same. And he probably wouldn’t sell himself out like Gonzalo Higuain did.