Adelaide United Advisory Board chair writes to Lionel Messi to pitch South Australia to legend after Barcelona transfer request
You’ve got to buy a ticket to win the lotto and that is what an Adelaide United director must be thinking as he sends a letter to global superstar Lionel Messi trying to lure him to the A-League.
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THE chair of Adelaide United’s Advisory Board has written to Lionel Messi in an attempt to tempt him to come to South Australia, after the global football superstar informed Barcelona he wants to leave them.
Messi, considered to be one of if not the greatest player ever to have played the world game, has asked to leave global giants Barcelona after two decades at the club in the wake of the Blaugrana’s humiliating 2-8 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The transfer request by the 33-year-old has put football’s European superclubs on high-alert with oil-rich Manchester City and PSG and Italian pair Inter Milan and Juventus among the early clubs linked with Messi.
The Argentinian has made clear his desire to one day play for the club he supported growing up, Newell’s Old Boys, but a return to Rosario is out of the question at the moment.
After teams from other codes, such as the AFL and NBA, had some fun with Messi’s transfer request by photoshopping him into their kits Adelaide United’s Advisory Board chair and direct Ian Smith has at least bought a ticket to the Messi lotto.
Smith has written a letter to the Argentine magician hoping that his love of Penfolds will win out over a lucrative move to the Premier League with City and formally invites Messi to join Adelaide United “for a couple of seasons in the A-League”.
“There are many reasons why you will love Adelaide, our state and Australia,” Smith wrote.
“As the capital of South Australia, it has managed the coronavirus extremely well. While we cannot be complacent, it is safe for your young family in comparison to other destinations.
“Many people, amid our multicultural population, relate to our Mediterranean-style climate.
There are Spanish speakers aplenty and good Argentinian restaurants easy to find.”
Smith also throws a couple of sweeteners in his offer to the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“Indeed, as a consumer of Penfolds Grange, one of the world’s finest wines, we will find you a house in the suburb of Magill,” Smith wrote.
“It is just a free-kick away from Penfolds’ award-winning Magill Estate restaurant, where you will have a regular table at your disposal.”
Good wine isn’t the only link Messi has with Adelaide.
Barcelona legend Guillermo Amor, Adelaide United’s most successful coach when he led the Reds to the A-League double in 2016, is close to Messi.
But there is a big sticking point, and it is huge.
Messi’s salary at Barcelona is around $104 million a year, and despite his transfer request and a reported clause in his contract that could allow Messi to leave for free Barca may ask for a transfer fee of around $500 million for their superstar.
Adelaide United stood down players and staff without pay during the COVID-19 shutdown, but Smith encouraged Messi to look past the fact the club could not offer him much in terms of financial compensation.
“Like the rest of the world we are dealing with the impact of COVID and, as a consequence, our A-League clubs did not fare too well from the renegotiated deal with the game’s TV broadcast partner,” he wrote.
“But, hey, let’s not let that get in the way of something that promises to be very special; once you are here, you will be so happy and money will seem merely incidental.”
Originally published as Adelaide United Advisory Board chair writes to Lionel Messi to pitch South Australia to legend after Barcelona transfer request