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La Liga President Javier Tebas cannot envisage the Spanish top flight without Barcelona's Lionel Messi.
Messi has recently been linked with a departure from La Liga, and Premier League side Arsenal have been reported as the front-runners to sign him up, per Dave Woods of the Daily Star.
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However, Tebas does not believe a move away from the league he has played in all of his senior career is a possibility for the Argentine superstar, per Spanish outlet AS (via Sport):
"That Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi leave is like the independence of Catalunya, impossible."
Woods' report indicates that Messi's love for Spain has "soured" amid the investigation into tax fraud he and his father are alleged to have carried out.Despite this, it does seem highly unlikely that Messi will leave the club he joined in 2004 any time soon.
As a Barcelona player, Messi has become arguably the best player of all time—he has won the Ballon d'Or four times.
The 28-year-old has won seven La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among numerous other trophies.
His current contract—signed in May 2014—expires in 2018, and he reportedly has a buyout clause of over £175 million, per Woods.
If Messi does look to force a move away from Barcelona, there are only a select group of major European clubs who could afford to buy him—including the likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Chelsea.
The transfer fee would undoubtedly be more than the world record set by Real Madrid when they bought Gareth Bale for £85 million in 2013.
While it seems an unlikely prospect, Messi's departure could potentially allow Barca to sign up long-linked Juventus target Paul Pogba, who is also very highly valued, per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones:
The most realistic scenario, though, is that Messi will stay at Barcelona and continue to excel for the Catalan club.
According to David Wright of the Express, this is not the first time that Messi has been speculatively linked with a departure from the Camp Nou, and it will likely not be the last.
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