Told you the players on this list would blow your mind. Think I'm joking? Here are thethreesources used as the basis for the Argentinian prodigy's inclusion. The core of the story revolves around Messi's £210 million buy-out clause and adidas' eagerness to poach the world's biggest football superstar away from a team sponsored by their rivals, Nike. Adidas were reportedly willing to front up to half of Messi's buyout in order to secure his signing for one of their three sponsored clubs: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Chelsea. With Madrid a no-go for obvious reasons and Bayern's funds being the most limited of the three clubs, it was believed that Chelsea were the most likely destination, even if manager Jose Mourinho's relationship with the player had always been tempestuous at best. Needless to say, when informed of adidas' intentions, Messi's representatives quickly came out and said the player had no intention of going anywhere. Whilst it could be argued that since Messi never seriously considered moving to Chelsea, he shouldn't be counted for inclusion on this list, for me the fascinating nature of the story and the fact the Blues were willing to go along with this crackpot scheme, making them arguably as close to signing the Argentine as anyone has ever been throughout his career, justify his presence. What's not mentioned in any of the three articles is whether adidas would have covered the additional 18% VAT invoked by the activation of any Spanish-based player's buyout clause. That would've added a whopping £37.8 million, taking the total cost to almost a quarter of a billion pounds. Phenomenal though Messi is, I think that's a tad steep even for a player of his talents. Know of any other players you think should have been included in the XI? Let us know in the comments below!
28-year old English writer with a borderline obsessive passion for films, videogames, Chelsea FC, incomprehensible words and indefensible puns. Follow me on Twitter if you like infrequent outbursts of absolute drivel.
