Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Lionel Messi Rumours as Contract Details Emerge

Lionel Messi's potential transfer from Barcelona to Chelsea continues to gain traction as the turmoil at Camp Nou intensifies.

Just days after the sacking of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta and resignation of his assistant, Carles Puyol, reports have revealed that there has potentially been a contract offer to Messi from the Blues. Pete Jenson of the Daily Mail believes Luis Enrique's future is up for review, a situation that could impact where Messi plays his football in the coming years.

Paul Brown of the Daily Star suggested, via Spanish sources, that "the player is at war" with Enrique after being dropped for the loss to Real Sociedad and failing to turn up to Monday's open training session.

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Brown suggests Chelsea are "willing to pay" Messi's £200 million buyout clause and offer the Argentinian a six-year contract. He indicates that Jose Mourinho's side are also "willing to meet his wage demands," which could "double the total cost of the deal."

The numbers, however, look questionable. Taking this at base level and following the line Chelsea would pay Messi's buyout fee, the Blues would need to offer him well over £600,000 per week to double the cost of the deal over six years.

Even without UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules, you would have to believe this would be insurmountable. It's perhaps arbitrary to consider such numbers, but this unearths how unlikely a £400 million investment in Messi is.

Still, comments from Enrique will fuel rumours. The under-fire coach recently missed his chance to end speculation when asked about his alleged run-in with Leo.

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"I neither confirm nor deny those reports," said Enrique, per Brown's article. "The things that are part of the team always remain in the changing room. I have the same relationship with all my players that I had at the start of the season. That has not changed."

Former players are starting to ramp up the pressure. Legendary striker Hristo Stoichkov believes that "Barca are descending into chaos and everything is topsy-turvy at the club right now," reported by Neil McLeman of the Mirror.

Former Camp Nou star Luis Suarez has also weighed in. He suggested to Cadena SER (h/t Thomas Jacobs of the Daily Mail) that Messi remains content but a mega offer could turn his head:

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I think Messi is still happy at Barcelona because the club has helped him a lot. They have been very supportive ever since he was a kid. But he might start to have doubts if a stratospheric offer were to come in. And you have to be careful when a player starts to get doubts. It could be that Messi's era at Barcelona is nearing an end.

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Sky Sports' Graham Hunter considered the practicalities of such a deal:

It's a regular occurrence when Messi's future is put into doubt these days. In November 2013, he revealed that he wished to stay with Barcelona "forever," per Marca (h/t Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC). Verbal commitment isn't enough to stop reports, however.

If Messi's troubles with Enrique are true and if Zubizarreta's removal leaves the head coach "isolated," per Brown, Messi's departure has surely become less likely. B/R UK's Guillem Balague believes the story is far more complex than a simple struggle for power:

Chelsea fans will understandably be following this one in good humour. The sheer cost of Messi's potential arrival makes the deal unlikely and would force Mourinho into changing his squad to accommodate the player (both financially and in terms of personnel).

The Stamford Bridge club are rolling along nicely right now. They are joint-top of the Premier League and in all three cup competitions, meaning silverware is a real possibility this season. Mourinho isn't the type of manager to risk financial ramifications when signing players—his dealings in January 2014 highlighted his FFP consciousness—so the Messi rumours continue to hold little substance.