Lionel Messi is officially free to talk to potential suitors about a summer transfer away from Barcelona, and Russian club Spartak Moscow played on that fact to score a viral hit with a joke on Twitter.
Speculation has been reignited as to what 2021 has in store for Messi now that the Argentine ace is free to negotiate a possible summer switch away from the Nou Camp with any interested parties, in preparation for when his current contract ends in June.

Messi himself has suggested he will wait until the season is over before making the decision whether to head to pastures new, with Barcelona’s presidential election later in January potentially being a crucial factor in determining if he stays or goes.

Should Messi walk away from the club he has been at since age 13, a reunion with former Barca boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City or a link-up with ex-teammate Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain are seen as the most likely landing spots for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.

But another club have now cheekily thrown their hat into the ring: Spartak Moscow.

On Saturday, the Russian club’s English-language Twitter account shared the news that Messi was free to negotiate a summer transfer, along with a mocked-up screenshot of a text exchange with the 33-year-old star.

“Hi, Leo!” Spartak began, laying the ground for their unlikely approach for the Barcelona captain.

“No,” came the blunt response from Messi in the imaginary exchange – which was accompanied by the caption “Pain” as the Russian club joked about their disappointment at being 'turned down' by the Argentine ace.

The post shared with the club’s 15,000 followers on its English account racked up more than 100,000 ‘likes’ in the space of just a few hours.

The Spartak English-language social media team are gaining a rapidly-growing following and were also behind the “most-liked tweet ever in Russian football” earlier this season.

On that occasion, Spartak landed a hit in football circles with a gag that Cristiano Ronaldo’s positive Covid-19 test on international duty with Portugal would have ramifications for Premier League club Wolves, who have a heavy Portuguese contingent among their ranks.

That tweet was ‘liked’ almost 70,000 times, further boosting Spartak’s online presence.

Lol, good humour from Spartak Moscow. I love football club that are able to banter and make joke like these on twitter.