Manchester United’s kit sponsors Adidas are the driving force behind what would be a sensational double coup that would see both Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola arrive at Old Trafford in the summer, according to Marca.
Adidas and the Premier League giants signed a record-breaking £750 million pound 10-year deal back in 2014 and the sportswear giant’s chief executive Herbert Hainer expressed his concern at the direction the club was headed in under the management of Louis van Gaal last week.
“The business side of things is going very well,” Haine told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung. “But the current style of play is not exactly what we wanted to see.”
Guardiola has confirmed he will leave Bayern Munich in the summer when his contract expires and indicated he is destined for the Premier League, although earlier this week he hinted that he might take another sabbatical, similar to the one he enjoyed when he left Barcelona, before heading to England.
Messi, who won two Champions League titles under Guardiola’s management, meanwhile, collected his fifth Ballon d’Or on Monday and revealed he had no intention of leaving Barcelona, although the Spanish publication claim the company that supplies his boots might have something to say about that.