Leo To Liverpool? Reds Linked With Shock Messi Loan Ahead Of MLS Season - Report

Liverpool being linked with Lionel Messi on a short-term loan sounds like pure fantasy — and yet, here we are.

According to reports in Spain, the Reds are among several European clubs considering a brief

move for the Inter Miami superstar during the MLS off-season. It would be a four-to-five-week cameo at most, a low-risk punt designed to inject creativity into a Liverpool side that has looked short of ideas at times.

On paper, the logic almost works. Messi, now 38, remains absurdly productive in the US. His MLS numbers are ridiculous for someone supposedly winding down: 43 goals and 25 assists in 49 games in 2025 alone. Decline? Not in Miami.

There’s also a familiar face waiting at Anfield. World Cup-winning teammate Alexis Mac Allister could play the role of persuader if Liverpool decide to push the idea beyond idle curiosity.

But this isn’t just about Liverpool’s interest. Messi has to want it — and that’s where the story starts wobbling.

Throughout his career, the Argentine has shown little appetite for English football. If he were to return to Europe, sentiment still points firmly towards Barcelona. The problem? Barça are broke. Another Spanish club is unthinkable, Italy can’t afford him, France has already come and gone, and Germany feels like a stretch.

Strip the options down, and it becomes stark: Premier League or nothing.

Even then, Liverpool don’t feel like the obvious fit. They rarely dabble in short-term nostalgia deals, and Messi has never chased Premier League validation. The simplest outcome is that he stays in Miami, waits for the MLS season to begin, and lets Europe keep speculating.

Realistically, this feels like a rumour that collapses under scrutiny. But football has a habit of getting strange when you least expect it.

And with Anfield already knee-deep in the unexpected this season, you can’t entirely rule out one final plot twist.