COMMENT: More than anyone else, Joan Laporta rattled the cage this week.
Yeah, there's been plenty of buzz about Lionel Messi and the potential of a Premier League move. But that's been in the English media. The chat hadn't reach Spain, particularly the Catalan press, until Laporta , the former Barcelona president, broke his silence last week.
Burned by the election defeat to Josep Maria Bartomeu, Laporta had kept his own counsel this season - until last week. In a wide-ranging interview, he took aim at the board over several issues, including the prospect of having to sell Neymar to a waiting Manchester United. With no major sponsor yet tied up for when the Qatar Airways agreement expires, Laporta fears the only way Bartomeu will seek to balance the books is by selling one of their stars. He discussed Neymar and then, without prompting, volunteered some information about Messi.
"When I was President we received many offers for Messi from clubs, including Inter, that were willing to pay his buyout clause," he said. “But I always said that the sale of the Argentine was impossible."
In other words, just because you don't hear about it, don't believe that there aren't clubs out there in constant contact with Messi - and Barca - about the prospect of tempting the Argentine away.
Laporta wasn't mischief-making. He's close to the Messi family. He admires Leo and as he said in that radio interview, if he was president a parting of ways would be "impossible".
In the same week, Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, who is also close to Messi and was his biographer, poured lighter fuel on the fire, suggesting the Premier League trio of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea had been stunned by Messi's response to their latest round of enquiries. In the past, the regular, routine approach would be given short shrift. But this year, things have changed. Representatives for Messi have been relaying a more encouraging response to the English trio. There's now a genuine belief inside Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and the Etihad that Messi could soon be 'in play'.
Like Laporta, Balague isn't seeking to create problems for Messi with Barca's faithful. Indeed, he's putting his reputation on the line with these revelations. Sergio Ramos' antics over the summer, which resulted in a new contract for the Real Madrid captain, are still a bitter memory for Manchester United fans.
You can just imagine the backlash if the next thing we heard about Messi, after his biographer had stoked the flames of a move to England, was that he'd signed a new deal.
Messi has been taking English lessons for some time, tribalfootball.com has been told he's been learning the language for over 18 months. The original motivation was to help Messi break into the English speaking market. But ambitions have changed this year, particularly over the way he and his family have been treated by Spanish government authorities.
Both Messi and his father Jorge will stand trial on tax fraud charges - with the state attorney demanding a 22-month prison sentence. Those close to Messi say it's a witch-hunt, claiming many high-profile Spanish athletes in similar situations are being ignored by the same attorney.
And this strikes at the heart of the matter. Messi feels he's being made a scapegoat, a political football by the state. And the thought of his son Thiago's earliest childhood memories being not of Dad on the football pitch, but in court with his grandfather - while others avoid such scrutiny - absolutely infuriates the Argentine. The anger within the Messi clan stems from the very public way the family has been pursued. Guilty or not, Messi believes such investigations should have been conducted privately, just as those involving his sporting peers have been.
If he really wants a move to England, where he is in constant contact with good friends Cesc Fabregas, of Chelsea, and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, politically, it's a perfect scenario for Messi - and Bartomeu. No Barca fan, given the way not only Messi, but several identities, including Neymar, Bartomeu and former president Sandro Rosell, have been treated by state authorities, would begrudge the Argentine leaving for England. And given the circumstances and perceived persecution, Bartomeu would also be spared a backlash from negotiating a realistic fee with suitors, rather than demanding Messi's €250 million buyout clause.
The blame wouldn't be leveled at Bartomeu or the board, but the state.
City, United and Chelsea all have the spending power to bring Messi to England in 2016. We know United chief Ed Woodward loves a trophy signing - and they don't come bigger than Messi. He didn't blink when it came to committing €150 million towards Neymar's transfer last summer.
At City, where money really is no object, Messi would not just have Kun waiting to welcome him, but also former Barca directors Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain.
And Chelsea? Well, of all the clubs to have kept in regular contact for the Argentine, it is the Blues which have made the most serious attempt over the past 12 months.
It's less than a year since an earlier round of Messi exit talk surfaced. At that time, it was sparked by a training ground blow-up between coach Luis Enrique and the Argentine. And it led to Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, making serious enquiries about Messi's situation.
He explored the idea of meeting Messi's buyout clause, encouraged by the feedback he'd received from Cesc about Messi wanting to give Thiago an English education.
Now, things have accelerated to the point where the unthinkable, thanks to those in Madrid, is no longer the case.
As one confidant close to Messi said last week, "It's almost like they're inviting him to leave Spain..."
INJURY TIME
Are Barcelona's B players really that bad? Or is it all about opportunity?
The club's La Masia system has taken a hammering this year over the lack of graduates now being produced. But as Sergi Roberto has shown this season, could it just be about giving the kids their chance?
By his own admission, Roberto was ready to quit Barca in the summer. The doubts persisted even when he was selected at the start of the season, with coach Luis Enrique throwing the midfielder in at right-back.
But Roberto hasn't just made that position his own, he's fast emerging as a key member of Enrique's first XI. Yesterday, he was at the heart of both Barca goals at Getafe, setting up Neymar's second-half volley after an incredible '360 backheel' to create Luis Suarez's opener.
Skill, flair and humility, it's everything that Roberto projects - and everything La Masia is famous for. He's been around for over five years - with Pep Guardiola including him in one El Clasico squad as a 17 year-old. Now 23, for a player of his talent, he's had to wait longer than most for his chance. But the decision to resist giving up on his dream is now paying off - both for the player and Barcelona.
