When Lionel Messi moved to PSG it felt like a wasted opportunity. But the World Cup winner’s move to the United States with Inter Miami feels even more so. A more interesting challenge would have been to see how arguably the world’s greatest-ever player would fare in arguably the world’s best league. So we put it to the test in FM23.
I used the FM Editor to create a mini-experiment with Messi transferring to every one of the Premier League’s 20 teams at the start of the 22/23 campaign. With each team, he had a 3-year deal worth £400k a week, down from his £575k a week at PSG. I started the game unemployed and holidayed ahead to the end of each of his seasons at all the Premier League clubs. So let’s see how he gets on in the Premier League!
Messi at the Champions
The obvious first choice was to put Messi at the Champions, Manchester City, under his former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.
Messi’s first season in England was pretty successful as he scored 10 goals and got 8 assists with a 7.53 average rating in 34 league games. He also scored 18 and got 12 assists in all competitions. And his City side strolled to the league title with 91 points, 11 clear of Chelsea, winning 28 and losing just 3 times, as well as emulating real life by winning the Champions League with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the Final. However, there was no treble as they lost in the FA Cup semi-finals to eventual winners Nottingham Forest, who beat Everton in the Final.
His second season at City saw Messi score 11 and get 6 assists with a 7.48 average rating in the league. And he scored 16 with 7 assists in 46 appearances, 8 of which were as a sub, in all competitions. City had a closer fight for the title, winning it again with 93 points but by 4 points from Liverpool. This time they did win the FA Cup, defeating Liverpool 3-0 in the Final, but fell well short in Europe as they lost on penalties to Porto in the round of 16.
Messi tailed off a little in season 3 as he only started 25 league games, scoring 5 goals with 7 assists and a 7.21 average rating. And he scored 8 and got 9 assists in 41 appearances in all competitions. His City side relinquished their crown, dropping to 2nd place on 80 points, 4 behind champions Chelsea. They were slightly improved in Europe, but were knocked out in the quarters by Arsenal, and also lost 2-0 in the FA Cup quarters to Chelsea and 1-0 in the Carabao Cup quarters by Arsenal. And Messi has decided to retire at the end of the season, aged 37. Interestingly, he only picked up 1 injury in 3 years at City, missing 2 weeks with a knee strain in 2024.
So Messi did pretty well with City, but how would he fare if he joined all of City’s challengers?
Messi at Arsenal
Could City’s closest challengers in real life go one better armed with Messi in their squad?
Messi enjoyed a strong season with 13 goals, 10 assists and a 7.52 average rating in 36 league games and 19 goals and 10 assists and a 7.49 average rating in 48 games in all competitions. And with Messi, Arsenal were again the closest contenders but finished 2nd on 78 points, 7 behind champions City. But they were knocked out in the Europa League round of 16 by Napoli, lost to Southampton in the FA Cup 4th round and lost to City in the Carabao semis.
Messi also performed well in season 2 at Arsenal, as he dropped into a central midfield role but still delivered 9 goals, 6 assists and a 7.40 average rating in 29 league games and 14 goals, 7 assists and a 7.36 average rating in 44 games in all competitions. But he did miss 8 weeks of the season through injuries. Arsenal slipped to 3rd on 70 points, a huge 23 behind City. However, Messi’s presence delivered huge success as Arsenal won their first-ever Champions League by defeating Barcelona on penalties and won the FA Cup Final 2-1 against Chelsea.
Age appeared to catch up with Messi in season 3 as he only started 9 league games with 13 off the bench as he was curtailed by several injuries. But he still scored 6 league goals with 2 assists and a 7.12 average rating, plus 8 goals and 4 assists in all competitions. Arsenal again finished 3rd in the league, with 79 points just 7 behind champions City. But this time they lost in the Champions League semis 4-2 to City and reached the quarters of both cup competitions. But there was no retirement in sight as Messi extended his Arsenal deal by 1 more year to 2026.
Messi at Man UFC
UFC haven’t won a title since Alex Ferguson departed, but could the arrival of Messi arrest those fortunes?
Messi enjoyed a solid first season despite missing 8 weeks through injury. He scored 9 goals with 9 assists and a 7.60 average rating in 29 league games and got 11 goals and assists with a 7.56 average rating in 39 games in all competitions. That didn’t really help UFC as they finished 5th on 68 points, 15 behind champions Liverpool. But they lost the Europa League Final 2-1 to Benfica and lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup 3rd round and Carabao 4th round.
Messi assumed the captaincy in season 2 at Man UFC and played more as a result. But he only scored 6 goals and got 6 assists with 8 goals and 8 assists in all competitions. That was because UFC had a terrible season, finishing 10th with 52 points and a huge 40 behind champions City. They again reached the Europa League Final, but this time lost 3-2 to Everton, and lost to City in the quarters of both domestic cups. As a result, Erik Ten Hag was sacked in the summer.
UFC hired Ruud van Nistelrooij, who clearly didn’t fancy Messi. He only started 12 league games in his 3rd season with 14 sub appearances, scoring 6 and getting 2 assists with a 7.08 average rating. UFC were equally poor in the league, only finishing 8th with 57 points and 36 behind winners Liverpool. Messi made 3 cup appearances as UFC crashed out to Fulham in the Carabao 2nd round then lost to Arsenal in the FA Cup 5th round. So Man UFC was not a good career move for Messi and he’s also retiring in the summer.
Messi at Liverpool
One of the most intriguing propositions was Messi heading to Anfield. But the big question was how Jurgen Klopp would get Messi and Mo Salah into the same team.
The answer was to play Salah off the left. And Messi performed well, scoring 11 with 7 assists and a league-leading 7.51 average rating in 34 games. He also got 15 goals, 8 assists and a 7.39 average rating in 48 games in all competitions. Liverpool finished 3rd in the league on 72 points and 14 behind City, but disappointed in the cups as they lost to Barcelona in the Champions League quarters, Arsenal in the FA Cup quarters and Chelsea in the Carabao 4th round.
Messi faced another challenge in season 2 as Liverpool signed Rafael Leao. But he still played 30 league games, scoring 6 with 10 assists and a 7.31 average rating, and scored and assisted 12 with a 7.31 average rating in 48 games in all competitions. Liverpool again finished 3rd with 76 points, 10 points behind winners Chelsea as City fell to 7th and sacked Guardiola. However, they won the Champions League by beating Milan 2-1 after extra-time, with Messi coming off the bench, and lost both the FA Cup and Carabao finals to Man City and Man UFC.
Messi’s gametime dropped off drastically in season 3 at Anfield, starting just 3 league games and coming on in 18 more. As a result, he only scored 5 and got 2 assists with a 7.13 average rating. He only made 7 more sub appearances in cup competitions, adding 1 more assist. But Liverpool won the Premier League with 86 points, 6 clear of Spalleti’s Man City. And unsurprisingly, Messi is retiring at the end of the season. They lost to PSG in the Champions League last 16, suffered a shock 1-0 exit to Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup 4th round and lost to Bournemouth on penalties in the Carabao quarters.
Messi at Chelsea
Chelsea were terrible in real life last season, but would those fortunes be improved by the presence of Messi?
He had a great 1st season in southwest London, scoring 16 league goals, which was only bettered by Salah and Havertz (19 and 17) with 7 assists and a 7.63 average rating. And he scored 19 with 12 assists and a 7.59 average rating from 47 appearances in all competitions. Chelsea finished 3rd with 73 points, 16 behind champions City. But they lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 and Everton and Arsenal in the FA Cup and Carabao 4th rounds, so not a great season.
Like at Arsenal, Messi was often used in central midfield in season 2 at Chelsea, which showed as he got 5 goals and 5 assists with a 7.32 average rating in 30 league games and 10 goals, 12 assists and a 1.44 average rating in 46 games in all competitions. Chelsea dropped to 5th in the league with 72 points finishing 18 behind City. They lost to Bayern in the Champions League round of 16 but reached the FA Cup Final only to lose 2-1 to Liverpool, after beating UFC then City, and lost to City in the Carabao semis.
Messi moved back to his right-wing role in season 3, which paid off as he delivered 8 goals, 3 assists and a 7.18 average rating in 26 league games. He also scored 12 and got 4 assists with a 7.25 average rating in 43 games in all competitions. His side was more competitive, finishing 4th in the league but only 3 points behind champions City in a really tight title race. But Chelsea won the FA Cup, beating 3-1 Arsenal in the final, afte losing to PSG in the Champions League last 16 and Everton in the Carabao 4th round. Messi will also finish his career at Chelsea, as he retires in June 2025.
Messi at Spurs
The final club in the first part of this experiment sees Messi line up in an exciting attack alongside Harry Kane and Son-Heung Min. Could he bring success to Spurs?
Messi didn’t exactly excel in his first season at Spurs, only scoring and assisting 5 in 30 league games with a 7.32 average rating. But he scored 11 and got 6 assists in 49 games with a 7.27 average rating in all competitions. Spurs finished 5th in the league, 27 points behind winners City. But they reached the Europa League Final only to lose 1-0 to Chelsea, after losing to Newcastle in the Carabao semis and 3-2 to Everton in the FA Cup 5th round.
Messi played better in season 2, scoring 10 with 3 assists and a 7.43 average rating in 28 league games, which was odd as he didn’t have any major injuries. And he scored 16 with 9 assists and a 7.42 average rating in 47 games in all competitions. Messi’s improved form saw Spurs climb to 2nd place in the league on 80 points, 13 back from winners City and despite only scoring 59 goals. However, they beat City to win the FA Cup – even though Messi wasn’t in the matchday squad – lost to RB Salzburg in the Europa League semis and lost to Everton in the Carabao semis.
Messi’s playing time fell off in season 3 with just 20 league appearances and got 5 assists with a 7.22 average rating, but failed to score for the first time in this experiment. He added 2 goals and 2 more assists in 13 cup games, with a 7.17 average rating overall. Some poor transfer business, including signing Ozan Kabak, saw Spurs drop to 7th with 64 points and 27 behind City. Some good cup performances saw them reach the Champions League semis but lose 3-1 to Liverpool and the FA Cup semis but lose 2-1 to Newcastle. And Messi is again retiring at the end of the campaign.
Unsurprisingly, Messi enjoyed the most success in his move to Man City. But arguably his best season from an individual point of view was his first at Chelsea, in which he scored 19 goals and got 12 assists.
Next time, we’ll be looking at how Messi would get on if he’d chosen to take on a challenge with some of the Premier League’s mid-table contenders.
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