Chelsea are preparing a move to sign Messi this summer, just not THAT Messi.
A number of the biggest clubs in Europe have been keeping an eye on French starlet Rayane Messi, with the teenager scouted by Europe's biggest and best.
Messi has spent the second half of the 2025/26 season playing in the Saudi Pro League with Neom, having been in Ligue 2 in France with Pau for the first half of the campaign. He has one goal and one assist in six Pro League matches for Neom.
His parent club is Strasbourg in Ligue Un and that is where Chelsea have a clear advantage over their rivals when it comes to tying down his signature.
Chelsea Have Key Transfer Advantage
Todd Boehly
Strabourg are Chelsea's sister club, owned by the same BlueCo group with a number of players sent between clubs in the last few seasons. Chelsea brought in current manager Liam Rosenior from the French outfit after he cut his teeth in Ligue Un.
It has already been revealed that Emmanuel Emegha will join Chelsea from Strasbourg in the summer and there are rumours that Valentin Barco could be another to swap eastern France for west London.
And now Messi's name is in that bracket too.
The teenager made the move from Dijon to Strasbourg in 2024, with BlueCo spotting his potential as a 16-year-old playing in the first team.
It has been reported that the initial plan for Messi was to return to Strasbourg in the summer and be integrated into the first team there, before potentially moving on elsewhere.
Chelsea Forced To Step Up Transfer Plan
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior applauds their fans after the match
However, amid interest from Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea may now step up their interest in the talented wonderkid and get a deal to bring him to the Premier League done earlier than they might have felt necessary.
It remains to be seen whether or not Rosenior will be in charge if Messi does make the move to London, with pressure already starting to ramp up on the Englishman.
Chelsea have slipped to fifth in the Premier League table and have only won once in their last five games. When arriving at the club Rosenior was handed a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge, but there are reports there are serious concerns behind the scenes about the decision to bring the young manager in already.
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