Chelsea Could Have Signed £210m Messi This Summer Thanks To Adidas Proposal

Argentinean superstar Lionel Messi could have signed for Chelsea in the summer after sponsors Adidas offered to pay £105m of his £210m buy-out clause, according to the Daily Mail.

Messi joined Barca as a 13-year-old and has become an integral part of their set-up on the way to being widely considered as the best player on the planet.

But the Mail cite reports emanating from Spain that claim Adidas wanted to try and prize him away from the Catalans – and from their sponsors Nike – in the summer with the sportswear giant offering to stump up half of his £210m buy-out clause and move him to one of their three main European clubs: Chelsea, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.

The report suggests that Messi’s representatives, as well as Barcelona officials, were made aware of the sensational plan, which could have seen Chelsea sign the South American for just £105m.

Of course any deal was always going to be extremely difficult to pull off as Messi has a close bond with the Nou Camp and has shown no signs of discontent during his time at the club.

Even if he did decide he would be open to a move, a switch to Chelsea may have been unlikely due to the players frosty relationship with Jose Mourinho in the past. Mourinho once publicly criticised the striker for his part in getting Asier Del Horno sent off during Chelsea’s clash with Barcelona in 2006 and the Portuguese coach was also a sworn enemy of Messi and Barca during his time at Real Madrid.

Still, it was a very generous offer from Adidas and one that Roman Abramovich must surely have been interested in pursuing, as marquee signings don’t come any bigger than Lionel Messi!

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Perhaps one day he’ll decide he wants a new challenge and it seems Chelsea may have a helping hand from Adidas if he wants to try his luck in the Premier League.