Lionel Messi Rumors: Super Star Leaving Barcelona?

July 13, 2014; Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL; Argentina forward Lionel Messi (10) reacts after the championship match of the 2014 World Cup after the game at Maracana Stadium. Germany won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Tim Groothuis/Witters Sport via USA TODAY Sports

When you hear Lionel Messi, what do you think? If you said FC Barcelona, you are among the majority. However, this might not be the case for much longer. There are reports that Lionel Messi may want to leave the Spanish powerhouse that is FC Barcelona. The only question is, will it happen, and if so, where will he go?

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Lionel Messi has played his entire club career at Barcelona, and even states that part of him wants to finish his storied career at the legendary club. Year after year, he has amazed his audiences and peers alike. He has set numerous records, continues to set records, and has even a few more that he aims to break before he hangs up the boots. Barcelona has been his only home as of now, and the colors of the club run in his veins. He is the heart and soul of Barcelona.

"Lionel Messi’s father told ESPNFC.com, “The thought is to stay here, but as people read between lines there is exaggeration. Leo is happy, but it is clear that if tomorrow the club says, ‘we have this offer, we want to sell you,’ well then we would have to study it. But as of today, we are not even thinking about that.”"

Clearly, Messi is not worried about anything else as of right now other than representing his beloved Barcelona, playing well for them, and leading them to more trophies and honors. Right now, he is not thinking of leaving any time soon and is only concentrated on accomplishing more with Barcelona.

However, no matter how happy he is right now, if there were to be a generous offer to the club, and the club is willing to let him go, he and his father would not look past it. There have been reports from the Messi camp that not everyone is happy with him right now. ESPNFC reports that Messi and his family have felt a lack of support. Messi even came forward and said that he felt like he was being pushed away from the club. If these claims are true, it will be very interesting to see if he heads elsewhere.

If Messi were to go, not many clubs would be able to afford the all-star. It is rumored that only about 5 clubs would be able to afford him. Those clubs are Real Madrid, Manchest United, Manchester City, Chelsea, and PSG. It’s hard to see Messi wear anything other than red and blue stripes, but if he were to, these seem the most likely clubs.

Right now it seems that Messi is staying where he is at, but as both he and his father have said, nothing is impossible. I think it would be very interesting to see if Manchester City were to pick him up. They seem to have a lot of money and he has consistently been linked with the Premier League. Along with that, there have been rumors of Ronaldo link with Manchester United. As far fetched as that sounds, if these two were to meet up on other ends of the Manchester Derby, England would go nuts.

Let’s see what happens in Messi’s future on the football pitch.