Barcelona's Lionel Messi (C) fights for the ball with Real Sociedad's Inigo Martinez (L) and Esteban Granero during their Spanish first division soccer match at Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian January 4, 2015.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi (C) fights for the ball with Real Sociedad's Inigo Martinez (L) and Esteban Granero during their Spanish first division soccer match at Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian January 4, 2015. REUTERS/Vincent West

It has been widely reported in the Spanish Press that Roman Abramovich has already sectioned a £200M bid to land Lionel Messi. Couple of years ago such a speculation would have been scoffed at. Not anymore as there is genuine method behind this madness.

The first point in question is affordability. Chelsea along with Manchester City are a handful of teams who can actually afford to pay a transfer fee to buy Messi from Barcelona. The problem with UEFA sanctioned financial fair play will be negated by the commercial deals that such a transfer will bring to the club.

The second question is the motivation factor for Messi. There is nothing left for him to win at Barcelona. He has won all kinds of trophies that one can at Barcelona. He would most definitely relish a new challenge. The only league that offers even more challenges than Spain is most definitely England.

The last couple of seasons have been dry in Barcelona and Messi's standards regarding the number of competitions that they have won. Chelsea on the other hand are building a team to push on to win trophies on all fronts. He will still get to play at the highest level with a team capable of winning at home and in Europe. Plus living in a city like London will provide him all the creature comforts that the World has to offer.

The third question is respect for the manager. With Luis Enrique he does not share the same level of comfort as he did previously with the likes of Josep Guardiola, Gerardo Martino or even Tito Vilanova. At Chelsea he will have the privilege to work under Jose Mourinho, a winner like him who has earned the respect of players the world over.

Finally fuel has been added to fire when recently Messi started to follow Chelsea and his former Barcelona team mates Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis on Instagram who are now a part of the Chelsea set up. His girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo has started following Chelsea on Twitter as well.

To contact the author of this article email a.biswas@IBTimes.com.au

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