Reports say that Lionel Messi has given Manchester United a secret look at the possibility of joining. This comes as Xavi is said to have started talks about possibly replacing Erik ten Hag as United manager.

Since the end of last season, when he was fired as manager of Barcelona, Xavi has not had a job.

Speaking with people about becoming the head coach of the Qatar national team, where he played football before leaving the Gulf state.

It was reported by the Daily Mail on Tuesday that United had started talks with Xavi’s representatives about the chance of replacing Ten Hag at Old Trafford. These talks were done through club representatives.

Ten Hag is under much pressure because United is off to its worst start to a Premier League season since 1989. However, the Red Devils’ 2-1 win over Brentford helped ease some of that pressure.

Even though Xavi speaks English as his first language and has said many times that he loves English football, he has never played for or coached an English club.

He worked with United CEO Omar Berrada when they were both at Barcelona. Berrada was the marketing manager for Barcelona from 2004 to 2011 before going to Manchester City.

Another player who was at Camp Nou at that time with Messi and played with Xavi for most of his career on several very successful Barcelona teams.

Messi, who is 37 years old and now plays for Inter Miami, is still going strong, but the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will not be able to play in England for much longer.

It is very doubtful that Messi will move to United, but Xavi’s hiring could persuade him to do so before the end of his playing career.

The legendary player for Barcelona is said to have made his thoughts about a possible move to Old Trafford clear.

In 2007, when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge, he was linked with a move to United. This was two years before he had a great game as Barcelona beat United 3-1 in the Champions League final.

He flatly denied any thoughts of a move when asked about the links. However, The Athletic claimed in 2020 that he was “more charmed” by “historic English clubs such as Manchester United” while his contract dispute at Camp Nou continued.

Messi ended up going to PSG instead of United, so United never got to sign him. It now seems unlikely that he will ever play football in England.