Chelsea Transfer News: Lionel Messi Sparks Wild Rumours with Instagram Follow

Lionel Messi has set tongues wagging by following Chelsea on Instagram, sparking rumours that the Barcelona superstar may be set for a move to the west London club.

Along with the Blues' official account, the diminutive Argentina skipper has also followed Chelsea players Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis on the photo-sharing site, while his girlfriend is now following Roman Abramovich's club on Twitter, per Liam Corless in The Mirror. 

While Messi's social media move seems insignificant in isolation, when paired with the recent furore at Barcelona following the weekend's 1-0 loss to David Moyes' Real Sociedad, it is unsurprising talks of a Camp Nou departure are surfacing.

Messi was left on the bench—along with Neymar—for the La Real loss, the fallout from which has seen the sacking of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, the departure of assistant sporting director Carles Puyol and the Argentine being described as "monumentally angry" with Barca boss Luis Enrique by Cadena Copa, via 101 Great Goals:

Monday was clearly a day of significant upheaval at the Catalan club and Messi has apparently lost confidence in Enrique's ability to make Barcelona competitive with current La Liga leaders Real Madrid, despite only being a single point behind Los Blancos in the Spanish top flight.

Corless reports that Chelsea owner Abramovich believes he could "prise [Messi] away from Barcelona," but the figure quoted for the purchase is an eye-watering £200 million.

Now may be the best opportunity for the Blues to move in for Messi with beIN Sports' Tancredi Palmeri reporting his absence at Monday's training session following Sunday's loss:

The benching of Neymar and Messi for the La Real encounter did seem an odd move by Enrique considering a victory would have seen them move to the top of La Liga, with Los Blancos having lost to Valencia earlier in the day.

Indeed, the pair themselves looked to be mystified by the decision, with Neymar seeming to indicate to Messi that they warm up following Real Sociedad's opener and eventual winner, despite it coming just two minutes into the match:

In all likelihood, having spent his childhood with Barcelona and become arguably the world's best player at the Camp Nou, the 27-year-old Messi will stay at the club having never previously expressed a burning desire to play in the Premier League.

However, unlike previous wild rumours about his possible departure, given the events of recent days it does not seem completely beyond the realms of possibility that Messi could leave Barca.

The Catalan giants need to work fast to ensure that any want-away inclinations their star man may be feeling are quashed immediately.