Lionel Messi can win his seventh Ballon d’Or award if the Argentine legend joins either Manchester City or Manchester United, former Red Devils and England captain Wayne Rooney has posited.
Messi animated some elite European clubs like Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Inter Milan, for a possible transfer business after he informed Barcelona that he would love to ply his trade elsewhere.
The 33 year old’s current contract at Barcelona will expire in June 2021, but it remains to be seen if any of the Messi’s suitors can convince the Spanish giants to accept a deal now or wait till next summer when the player becomes a free agent.
six-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi, has been at Barcelona since the age of 13, and has scored 634 goals from 731 matches, bagging 285 assists. It’s an incredible contribution that helped Barca win 10 Laliga titles, six Copa del Rey, four Champions League crowns, three UEFA Super Cup titles, three FIFA Club World Cup titles, among others.
Rooney wants the player he admires as the best footballer of all time to switch and play for an English Premier League club, preferably Manchester City or Manchester United, for obvious reasons.
“I know he’s getting older but he’s a player who no one has seen before.
Messi has everything – he can create goals, score goals, dictate the game and is the best player of all time,” Rooney told talkSPORT.
“He’s one of the only players I’ve sat there and watched and been in awe.”
“Him and Cristiano Ronaldo have set a standard which I don’t think we will ever see again but, for me, Messi is just different level.”
Rooney however does not want Messi to join a club in the USA’s MLS like many big stars have done in the twilight of their professional careers.
“The United States shouldn’t be in his mind because he’s too good. .
He could come to the Premier League and be a Player of the Year. One million per cent,” said Rooney who left Major League Soccer side, DC United, to join English Championship side as player/assistant coach.
“If he surrounds himself with Bruno Fernandes or Kevin De Bruyne he could win a seventh Ballon d’Or, which would be incredible.”
