Thursday, 27th March, 2014
Argentina legend Diego Maradona believes that there is no reason why Lionel Messi cannot play for a club other than Barcelona.
The 26-year-old has consistently refused the chance to move, having spent his career so far with the Blaugrana.
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Maradona, who has been vocal about his countryman's skills and talent, feels that Messi could leave in search of a new challenge, if he wished.
"I really believe that Messi could be wearing a different shirt now", the 53-year-old told Sport Bild.
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He cited Barcelona's transition from not having any sponsor on their shirt to being financed by Qatar Airways, stressing that the Spanish champions have no reason to block Messi's move out of the Camp Nou to a club like Bayern Munich for example.
"Before, the power of the Barcelona members was so great that they didn't even allow sponsorship on the shirt. Now we see 'Qatar Airways' on the shirt.
"So if they allow advertising, why can't Messi play for Bayern Munich?"
Speaking about the dream combination of Robert Lewandowski and Messi, Maradona said: "It would be the end of football.
"Everyone else would be left playing for second place – in all of the competitions and in all of the leagues", the Argentine added.
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