It’s still unclear where both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will be playing their football during the 2021-22 season.

As things stand, it seems extremely likely that Messi will remain a Barcelona player beyond this summer, despite the fact the Argentine is yet to put pen to paper on a contract extension.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, may end up staying at Juventus after the Italian outfit qualified for next season’s Champions League.

The 36-year-old is reportedly unsettled in Turin and open to leaving the Old Lady, but his options are limited. Only Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United appear to be in the running for his signature at the moment if Juve decide to sell.

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Will Ronaldo and Messi finally play together?

However, an eyebrow-raising report has been published by Javier G. Matallanas for Spanish newspaper AS suggesting that Barcelona - yes, we know it’s hard to believe - might be an option.

It’s claimed that Joan Laporta, who was elected Barcelona president for a second time in March, has “let his imagination fly” and dreamt of a potential situation which seems impossible.

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Laporta, the report claims, “aspires to the utopia” of joining Ronaldo and Messi together at Barça.

Matallanas says Laporta began to dream and design an “operation that would go down in football history”: bringing together arguably the two greatest footballers the world has ever seen.

Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes has not been formally contacted as yet, while it’s unclear whether the player himself would be open to joining the Catalan club.

It seems incredibly unlikely given his status as a Real Madrid legend. No player has scored more goals (450) for Los Blancos than the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

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Moving to Barcelona, even at this late stage in his career, would shatter his legacy in the eyes of Madridistas.

That said, Real Madrid have no interest in bringing him back to the Bernabeu this summer.

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How would Barcelona afford Cristiano Ronaldo?

How would Barcelona afford Ronaldo? It’s claimed that Laporta’s daring plan would see him offer two players to Juventus. The names of Antoine Griezmann, Sergio Roberto and Philippe Coutinho were all reportedly mentioned.

And then there’s the small matter of Cristiano’s astronomical salary.

Matallanas, however, adds that studies suggest uniting Ronaldo and Messi could potentially double Barcelona’s income.

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Football fans across the world - those with no affiliation to Madrid, anyway - would love to see Messi and Ronaldo on the same team before they retire.

It would be a magnificent sight.

And Laporta, it seems, can’t get the idea out of his head.

We’d usually say that stranger things have happened in football and to expect the unexpected, but this really would be a contender for the most shocking transfer of all time.

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