Step away from the Bridge

By: Matt | May 8th, 2008

As the summer quickly approaches, the EPL tends to become a bit like a middle school cafeteria in it’s propagation of nasty rumors.

“omg, did you see who Drogba is flirting with?”

“Jose just passed a note to Adriano Galliani, tehehehehe”

“C-Ron is soooo dreamy” (okay, not a rumor…just an observation)

Amidst all the speculation, it’s good to know that the Messi to Chelski rumor can be squashed. It was widely reported early this week that Blues owner Roman Abramovich had approved a record-shattering £80 million offer for the services of el jugador minúsculo, and when this Russian billionaire opens his checkbook, people listen

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However, when Chelsea started making their summer transfer shopping list, Messi failed to appear next to names like Franck Ribery and Sergio Ramos. The Telegraph reports that “Chelsea do not believe he would leave Barcelona”

Who knows what Messi’s attachment to the Catalan giants stems from, it could be his youthful pride in his club, or the prestige of being the best player (sorry ‘dinho, Daryl said it first) on one of Europe’s best teams.

No matter what the reason, Barca should recognize that they dodged a bullet here. Player-unrest at the Nou Camp has made headlines all season, but the younge Argentine’s commitment to the clubs is admirable. El Mundo Deportivo says Barca management know that envious glances from the likes of Chelsea and AC Milan are being cast over Messi and they’re eager to tie him up for the long-term.

“Leo has much room for improvement and is hungry to win titles with both Barcelona as with Argentina,” said Barca sports chief Txiki Begiristain.

So for now, The Messiah is safe poster-izing the defenders of La Liga, and won’t have to deal with this kind of coverage.