Rio Ferdinand has claimed that his friend and former West Ham United teammate Frank Lampard is interested in signing Lionel Messi for Chelsea.
A number of Europe's biggest clubs have been put on red alert after Messi handed in a bombshell transfer request this evening, asking to leave the club he has represented for his entire career so far.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, could be available on a free transfer due to a clause in his contract, although Barcelona are expected to legally challenge that.
Ferdinand, who also worked as a TV pundit alongside Lampard before the latter moved into the management, has now claimed that the Chelsea boss wants to bring Messi to Stamford Bridge in a blockbuster deal.
Chelsea have already signed Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech this summer, while deals for Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Malang Sarr are also thought to be in the pipeline.
Messi has scored 634 goals in 731 games for Barcelona, helping the club to 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among a plethora of other trophies.
