Chelsea fan J.J. Watt made his pitch to Lionel Messi after reports of Barcelona exit

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Over the next couple weeks, the sports world could be witnessing the biggest free agency in, well, history.

Barcelona confirmed Tuesday that it had received a burofax (!) from Lionel Messi, requesting to opt out of his contract and leave the club. Even at 33, Messi remains one of the best players on Earth. So, the news sent shockwaves around the sport.

Fans waited little time to make their pitch to Messi, and that included the most high profile of American soccer fans like Texans star J.J. Watt.

Watt selected Chelsea FC as his Premier League club of choice a few years ago. Like, there’s even a supporter profile piece about Watt on Chelsea’s site. As word of Messi’s potential Barcelona departure spread, Watt made his pitch on Twitter.

He tweeted an edited photo of Messi in a Chelsea kit.

Now, if you’ve followed Chelsea’s offseason, you’d know that the Blues have been on a huge spending spree. They’ve already added Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech — plus, expected additions of Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell could become official in the coming days.

So, it’s unlikely that Chelsea would be able to make a Messi signing work financially within fair-play guidelines. And it’s also doubtful that — as good as Messi is — he fits into Frank Lampard’s vision of a youthful Chelsea side to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City atop the Premier League table.

But this is Lionel Messi we’re talking about: the GOAT. If it can work financially, every club that can afford him will give that signing a serious look.

Maybe Watt’s vision isn’t that farfetched, after all. Shoot that shot, J.J.

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