What Ex-Oasis star Liam Gallagher thinks of Man City landing Lionel Messi...social media goes wild with speculation

With his club heavily linked with the superstar, former Oasis singer and Manchester City fan Liam Gallagher likened the rush of transfer speculation to “the space race”.

“The messiah on his way to Manchester City fc c’mon you know... I’m getting my Lionel’s out,” he tweeted.

Others displayed even more optimism. In a desperate attempt to lure the Argentine to Lancashire, former Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba tweeted: “Dear Messi, Could you consider @OfficialBWFC as one of your options... #comeonyoutrotters”

Grimsby fan and comedian Lloyd Griffith appeared to take it upon himself to try and broker a deal for his club – sharing an old photo of himself shaking hands with the superstar and adding: “I’ll sort this”.

In response, the Mariners joked: “We told you to start discussions with him secretly... not leak it to the world press.”

For many the news proved a golden opportunity to flex their photo-editing muscle, with Port Vale artistically grafting Messi’s head onto the shoulders of one of their own.

“Come for the oatcakes. Stay for the away shirt,” they tweeted in a plea to the Argentine.

Newcastle defender Federico Fernandez was asked by a fan to enquire whether compatriot Messi was a fan of bridges, with a view to a move to Tyneside.

“I will,” promised Fernandez on Twitter.

Perhaps the most surprising online response to Messi’s transfer request came from his team-mates.

Barca legend Carles Puyol tweeted of his “respect and admiration” after the decision – to which Messi’s current strike partner Luis Suarez responded with clapping emojis.

However, for many the most unexpected element of the whole saga was that Messi sent a fax to Barcelona to tell the LaLiga giants of his intention to leave.

Bemused by the millionaire star’s choice of dated technology, Twitter user @haa_ree0 tweeted: “Messi shut down the internet with a message sent on a fax machine.

“If this doesn’t prove how big he is, (I don’t know) what will.”