He's the world's best player and there's a very real chance Lionel Messi could play in New Zealand next year.
It would be a treat for fans in this country but should be enough for the New Zealand players to shudder. The All Whites, if they get through Oceania qualifying, would take on the fifth-best team in the South American confederation for a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
That team, right now, is Argentina.
That's Argentina, 1978 and 1986 World Cup winners and the world's No 1 side, despite their struggles during their curent World Cup qualifying campaign. New Zealand and Argentina have never met in an international
Messi scored the opening goal in today's 3-0 win over Colombia that saw them jump onto fifth in the South American confederation behind Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador and Chile. Argentina sit on 19 points from 12 games, one point ahead of Colombia.