Graeme Souness has sensationally called for Manchester United to make an audacious move to sign Lionel Messi.
The Barcelona superstar’s time at the Nou Camp could be coming to an abrupt end following the club’s humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.
Messi, 33, has grown disillusioned with life at his boyhood club following numerous mounting problems behind the scenes.
Reports in Spain claim he has made an ultimatum to Barca by demanding a major overhaul of changes or he’ll leave when his contract expires next year.
And Souness believes Premier League duo Man City and neighbours United should waste no time in making their move.
Writing in the Times, he said: “Lionel Messi looked like a man who has had enough of carrying that team; without him they wouldn’t even be good enough to qualify for the Champions League.
“This would be the perfect week to put a bid in for the 33-year-old Argentinian and I could easily see him playing in Manchester — at either United or City.”
With the superstar not getting any younger, Messi may not be prepared to spend the twilight of his career at a club going backwards.
The real issues at Barcelona lie at the hands of president Josep Bartomeu, who has been embroiled in a string of controversial antics.
One of those include paying a PR firm to attack stars such as Messi and Gerard Pique online.
Pep Guardiola is likely to be favourite to reunite with Messi with the duo winning seven major pieces of silverware together including two Champions League titles.
According to reports, Man City would be prepared to pay whatever it takes to land Messi if he was available.
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He has a huge £635million buy-out clause as part of his current contract.
Italian giants Inter Milan have also been linked with a move for Messi but are unlikely to compete financially with the Premier League pair.