Chelsea Transfer News: £200m Lionel Messi Bids Predicted from Blues and United

The slightest hint of a Lionel Messi exit from Barcelona has left Premier League sharks sniffing at his potential acquisition, with Chelsea and Manchester United each reported to be preparing gargantuan bids.

According to Jamie Anderson of the Express, those English giants, along with Paris Saint-Germain, "are now the only three clubs with the financial capability to sign Messi," with Bayern Munich and Manchester City apparently out of the race.

Anderson quotes Der FCB boss Pep Guardiola saying: "I hope that Messi will end his career with Barcelona." Manuel Pellegrini, meanwhile, says stories linking the Citizens with Argentina's star are merely rumour.

Ex-Barcelona helmsman Johan Cruyff has detailed the kind of money he says teams are willing to splash in order to bring about Messi's Camp Nou departure, per Spanish station Radio Cope (h/t Gianluca Di Marzio):

"

These are personal matters, the only one who can make a decision is Messi. I imagine that there are teams that want to pay €200M for him, but Barcelona don’t have money problems and he won’t leave for that reason. He has to play football while having fun and I imagine that he’s having a lot of fun at Barcelona.

"

The comments leave Messi's future as open to debate as ever. One would agree Cruyff is correct in suggesting any move won't be fuelled by finances; the Blaugrana star already earns around £300,000-a-week at Barca, after all.

Inside Spanish Football provides further quotes from Cruyff, however, where he suggests Messi's ongoing legal disputes in Spain and the tensions within Barcelona could be a factor in any exit:

"

The IRS has been investigating Messi for the past three or four years and it’s bothering him.  They are operations with the club.  The problem with Messi and Barca will be internal.  There, things can happen that neither you nor I know about.

"

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Football has a way of turning the seemingly impossible into reality, and after forming a 14-year alliance with the Catalan giants, the thought of Messi representing any other banner understandably seems ludicrous to some.

United are looking for any guaranteed source of inspiration they can get their hands on after slipping down the Premier League ranks of late.

Louis van Gaal's men are gradually getting back on track, the latest sign of that being Saturday's 2-1 win over Arsenal, but the purchase of Messi would without doubt give morale a tremendous boost.

Sky Sports' Pete O'Rourke recently reported the club had posted a fall in revenue of almost 10 percent after failing to qualify for Europe last season:

At first, a £200 million outlay may look daunting, but the windfall of merchandise and success that would assuredly come thanks to a Messi arrival would have to be quantified against those initial sacrifices.

For Chelsea, a move such as this would be one made more out of luxury than anything. Messi's comments to Argentinian newspaper Ole (h/t Goal.com's Ben Hayward) will have alerted Roman Abramovich, and the Russian magnate will sense opportunity is afoot.

Top of the Premier League table and with their European hopes in good condition, all is currently well at Stamford Bridge, but it's been a trademark of the Blues to never be satisfied when it comes to squad renovation.

In the end, though, this will be a choice for the player alone to make. Every club in the world will want his services—not least of which the one he currently plays for—but only a select few can realistically move in.

Chelsea and the Red Devils are fortunate enough to sit among that bracket, and they'll look to see that they're able to offer Messi his next passion project.