Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Undoubtedly the biggest story in football now is the news that Lionel Messi wants to leave Barcelona.
And the ripple effects of that decision could be set to extend as far as Liverpool, with the Catalans deciding that, if Messi is allowed to get his wish, then their number one target to replace him is Sadio Mané.
Liverpool do not want to sell the Senegalese star, and current African Player of the Year, but, with a reported fee of £107 million on the table, they would have to consider seriously any offer, given that they only paid £34 million for him in 2016, when they bought him from Southampton.
They will also have in mind what happened the last time they sold a player to Barcelona. The money they got for Philippe Coutinho enabled them to buy both Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, both of whom have been integral members of their team since arriving at the club.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.