“I would like to see him come to the Premier League. It would be great for the league for sure and hopefully [I’ll] get the opportunity to go and watch him live a few more times”
Andy Murray says he would like to see Lionel Messi play his football in the Premier League after the Argentina forward announced on Tuesday he wished to leave Barcelona.
Messi came through the ranks at the Nou Camp having joined the famed La Masia academy and has won 33 major trophies and a record six Ballon d’Or titles and it has previously seemed unthinkable he might leave.
However, news of his potential availability is expected to be of keen interest to Europe’s top teams.
Manchester City are likely to be linked with a move for Messi, with a move to the Etihad bringing a reunion with former boss Pep Guardiola.
Three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1 Murray has even had his say and where he thinks the 33-year-old should play his football next season.
Speaking after losing his last-16 encounter against Milos Raonic in a rain-interrupted match at the Western & Southern Open in New York, he put on the hat of a football pundit to predict the future of Messi.
“I would like to see him play in the Premier League. To be honest I don’t really care who he plays for. I follow Arsenal but not thinking he’s going to be joining them. But yeah, I would like to see him come to the Premier League. It would be great for the league for sure and hopefully [I’ll] get the opportunity to go and watch him live a few more times.”
He added: “I watched him a bit when he was much younger. When I lived in Barcelona I got to see him play a couple of times. I’ve heard a lot of people say ‘could he do it on a cold Wednesday [night] in Stoke?’, and I’ve always said ‘of course he could because he’s the best player ever’ … he’d be absolutely fine, so I’d like to see him show a few people that he can do that.”
SkyNews
