Lionel Messi has chosen Manchester City as club he wants to play for

Lionel Messi is leaving Barcelona, and reportedly wants to play for his former manager in Pep Guardiola

It’s rare that the greatest player in the world is up for grabs, but on Tuesday, Lionel Messi made it clear he no longer wants to play at Camp Nou. Messi is essentially the greatest soccer free agent of his time, and the early indication is that he wants to join Guardiola at Manchester City in the Premier League.

City is coming off a second-place finish domestically, and is still searching for the Champions’ League success that Guardiola found at Barca. While the European giants are in the midst of a financial scandal, should Messi be able to negotiate the release clause in his contract, which is currently set at a 700 million euros, they may be able to afford him.

What would Messi joining Manchester City mean for the EPL?

With City finishing in second place to Liverpool by a wide margin this past season, they had to make a big splash to keep up with Jurgen Klopp and Co. There is no bigger move to make than bringing in Messi, who will now get to prove himself outside of La Liga for the first time in his storied career.

Per ESPN, Guardiola’s phone call with Messi played a major role in his decision-making process. The two had a stunning run of success together from 2008-12, and Messi is uneasy about returning to his previous club after an 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions’ League. Pair that with a managerial change, and the likely departure of Luis Suarez, and the uncertainty for the Catalonian side isn’t ideal for a 33-year-old with perhaps only a few years left playing at an elite level.

For La Liga, this would symbolize a concerning loss of talent over the last few years, with Cristiano Ronaldo departing Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018, followed now by Messi, who has made his intentions very clear.