This is not the first time that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has been linked with Chelsea - but it could be the last.
The 33-year-old has dominated football for well over a decade, landing six Ballon d'Ors, winning the La Liga ten times with Barcelona and the Champions League on four occasions.
You have to go back to the 2007/08 season for the last time Messi scored less than 30 goals in a season in all competitions. Even this past season he bagged 31 for the Spanish giants.
But now he could leave Barcelona after handing in a transfer request which has led to links with the likes of Premier League outfits Chelsea, Manchester United and Man City.
Barcelona have been on a decline for a while but the 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals earlier this month was certainly the hammer blow.
Messi wants to exercise a clause in his contract which would allow him to leave for free, though that clause expired in June. A bidding war could commence and this is not the first time that Chelsea have had their name readily associated with the left-footed wizard.
Chelsea were 'close' to signing Messi in 2013
Messi was offered the chance to move to Chelsea back in 2013 after his sponsor Adidas offered to pay half of his £210 million buyout clause seven years ago, according to reports in Spain, meaning the Blues would have only had to pay £105 million themselves.
Mundo Deportivo, per Bleacher Report, reported at the time that Messi could have ended up at Chelsea, while Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were talked about as potential options.
Adidas's desire behind the potential transfer at the time was to take Messi away from Nike sponsored Barcelona. As it is, Messi still remains on Adidas's books to this day.
Could Messi join Chelsea this summer?
At this stage it remains a possibility that Messi's transfer request is simply a power move as he reportedly hopes president Josep Maria Bartomeu will step aside.
But even if he does move, Chelsea looks an unlikely destination. Rio Ferdinand may have joked about Chelsea planning to sign the forward but Manchester United and Man City are the more likely landing spots for Messi if he was to make the move to the Premier League.
Whatever happens, this moment perhaps represents the final window for Messi to make a move to the Premier League.
