Rio Ferdinand believes Lionel Messi cannot afford to waste the remaining years of his career at Barcelona following their shambolic defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The Bundesliga powerhouses became the first team in Champions League history to score eight goals in a knockout match as they put Barcelona to the sword in ruthless fashion in Lisbon.
Bayern chalked up four goals in each half with Philippe Coutinho, on loan from Barcelona, rubbing salt into the wounds by providing an assist and scoring twice after he was introduced as a late substitute.
Messi was already said to be contemplating his future following a series of reported bust-ups and disagreements behind the scenes.
The Argentine superstar, 33, has spent his entire professional career at Barcelona but Ferdinand believes a change of scenery is necessary if he is to compete for the biggest honours in club football.
‘Another big question now is what’s Messi thinking?’ Ferdinand told BT Sport after a humiliating 8-2 defeat. ‘What’s he thinking in that dressing room going home tonight?
‘Does he want to spend it in that shirt? Given the performances and the way that squad is looking at the moment in comparison to other teams around Europe. It’s a big question he’ll be thinking about.’
‘Why not?’ he added after fellow pundit Owen Hargreaves claimed he could not envisage watching Messi in the shirt of another club.
‘Has he got the time to sit there and wait? Football is a game that comes and goes very quickly in your life.
‘These next two years where he’s still going to have the power to influence games the way he does is he going to want to be doing that not really competing for the big titles I don’t know?’
