Is Lionel Messi Trying to Engineer Transfer out of Barcelona?

Lionel Messi has hinted that he may leave Barcelona, but the odds are that the club legend won't be going anywhere too quickly.

He has spent his entire professional career with the Catalan giants but told Argentinian newspaper Ole (h/t Sport) that nothing was certain about his future. Messi said:

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As of today, I am living for the present. I am thinking about having a great year and winning all the titles we want to win with Barcelona—nothing more. After that, we'll see. Football has a lot of twists and turns. As I've always said, I would like to stay forever, but sometimes you do not always get what you want. Especially in football, where there are so many changes and things happening. It is complicated, even more so given what is happening today at Barcelona.

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So, let's look at the reasons Messi may want to leave Barcelona.

The first is the tax issue that hangs over him and his father, Jorge Messi. The pair will face a court appearance, and some believe that these problems will cause Messi to leave Spain.

After the news broke that the pair hadn't been let off, Jorge spoke to Cadena Cope about his son's future (h/t the Express): "He loves Barca, but life takes lots of twists, you just never know. He loves Rosario, he built a house there. What do I know? Life takes a lot of twists and turns."

Another reason for a potential Messi departure will be if the team go on a tailspin. The season under Tata Martino finished badly, and although it is early days yet in Luis Enrique's reign, there are some causes for concern. 

While Barcelona will still be finishing in the Champions League places, a player like Messi deserves to be winning titles almost every season.

Daniel Tejedor/Associated Press

Perhaps he'll also want a new challenge. He's on the verge of becoming the all-time top scorer in Spanish football history and has broken countless other records in the country.

Messi might want to try his hand in England, silencing the doubters who perennially wonder if he can "do it on a wet Tuesday night at Stoke."

However, it's far more likely he'll stay at Barcelona until the dying embers of his career.

For one, nobody can afford him. Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have both had their wrists slapped by UEFA over Financial Fair Play issues and they would be two of the front-runners for his signature.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Another would be Chelsea, but the way they have been spending in recent years is far from the extravagant, reckless "buy first and ask questions later" strategy of the early Roman Abramovich days.

Chelsea have been purchasing players intelligently, making money off many like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, while reinforcing the first team with established talent like Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, at good prices.

Messi loves Barcelona too, as he told Ole in the aforementioned quotes. He is already certain to go down as the greatest player in their history, but if he stays there for all his career, he will also be the most cherished.

Most likely, his comments are in order to get a better deal at the club, or show his discomfort at something behind the scenes.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Messi's contract has been renewed several times at Barcelona and the latest of those renewals was in May, so this seems a little bit soon for another new deal, which leaves the latter option.

He knows how much anything he says will be picked up and analysed in the media, so Messi is always careful with his words.

This won't have been a slip, but perhaps just a little dig for a reason we don't know about.

Regardless, on Saturday it will all be forgotten about as Messi takes the field against Sevilla, intent on finishing the job of taking over Telmo Zarra's goalscoring record.