"Yeah, but could he do it on a cold, wet, windy night in Stoke?"
A quite ridiculous question you'd hear asked down the pub as you watch Lionel Messi score yet another hat-trick in the Champions League.
He’s not bad in sunny Spain but could he really cope with the intensity of the Premier League?
Of course, he could.
But some supporters still like to ask the question. And we might soon find out the answer for definite.
Ok, Stoke may no longer be in the Premier League but you can replace the Britannia Stadium with Turf Moor as the question remains.
The most qualified man to answer that question is Tony Pulis.
During his second spell in charge, Pulis was in charge of Stoke for seven years and established the Potters as a side nobody liked to play against - especially the big teams.
Long balls, Rory Delap’s throws, tough tackles, that massive gap in the side of the stadium that allowed the wind to swirl around the pitch. It was a nightmare.
But could the greatest player to have ever played the game cope with it?
Pulis reckons he’d be just fine…
“People are now asking how Lionel Messi might get on if he had to play at Stoke on a wet, windy Tuesday night. Or some of the slightly less glamorous Premier League grounds if he does sign for Manchester City,” Pulis wrote in the column for The Times.
I think he would be amazing. He is blessed with amazing skill, of course.
“I always remember sitting with my son, Anthony, at Arsenal one night and watching Barcelona during the warm-up. Messi launched this ball miles into the air and then killed it dead with his foot when it came back down. Anthony and I just looked at each other. Normal human beings aren’t capable of doing that.
“But people forget just how robust Messi is. He is tough, strong, he tracks back for his team when necessary, and no matter what the situation he will create opportunities either for himself or his team-mates.
There is no point going man-to-man with a player of Messi’s ability. He is so clever he would drag your player all over the pitch and still find a way to destroy you, probably exploiting the hole you’ve left by assigning someone to that role.
“If he comes to the Premier League it will be great for English football after everything we’ve endured over the past six months. He would light up our game.
“Stoke are not in the Premier League now but just imagine what it would mean to clubs like Burnley, Sheffield United, Brighton and my old friends at West Bromwich Albion, to have Messi playing on their pitch.
“I’d like to think he would enjoy it too; the experience of playing in the Premier League.”
And we’d love to see him here.
But is it really going to happen?
The latest reports suggest that City are genuinely interested and believe they can make it work financially. Meanwhile, Messi sees a reunion with Pep Guardiola as his ideal scenario if he leaves the Camp Nou.
Pulis has given his opinion but could we finally get a proper answer to the question: Can Messi do it on a cold, wet, windy night in Stoke?