It's hard to believe that perhaps the greatest player to ever play the game is now a free agent, but that's the case as Lionel Messi's contract at Barcelona has officially run down.
Having been at the club for the duration of his career, Messi is out of contract for the first time in his life but it's not expected to be a tough choice as to where the next couple of years of his playing days are.
The 34-year-old is still at the top of his game and he's widely expected to remain at the Spanish giants, with president Joan Laporta confident of tying up the deal very soon, although they are still seeking the 'best solution' for all parties.
What that means is anyones guess - it could relate to financial issues at Barcelona as Guillem Balague suggested - but despite handing in a transfer request last August it doesn't seem like Messi will be playing elsewhere anytime soon.
It hasn't stopped clubs from jokingly throwing their hat into the ring though for the legendary Argentinian attacker, and a regular question that has always been posed is - Could Messi do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke?
One person who wants to find out the answer to that is former Potters forward Jon Walters, who has made a plea to Messi to consider a switch to the bet365 Stadium instead of re-signing with Barca.
The Verdict
Walters is clearly a man with a sense of humour but I'm not sure that his words are going to be able to convince Messi to swap sunny Spain for Staffordshire.
It would have been nice to see Messi play in England and the Premier League at one stage of his career, and when he handed in a transfer request last summer it seemed as though Man City could be major players in trying to convince him to come to the country.
It didn't happen though and it likely never will now, so unless Stoke can manage to secure a lucrative friendly match against the Catalan giants - or somehow get into the Champions League in the next couple of years - then Messi won't ever grace the bet365 Stadium turf, despite Walters' best efforts to try and make a move happen.