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Lionel Messi is good at football.

Come on, you know this. This was on the entrance exam. Remember?

In the last week, the Argentine schemer has been linked with a move away from Barcelona , with three Premier League clubs interested.

We've already dug a little deeper on the topic of whether Messi would actually ever leave the Catalan giants , but now it's time for a little trip into the hypothetical.

Our friends over at Sports Interactive ran three simulations using their Football Manager engine to see how Messi would get on this season if he joined Man United , Chelsea and Manchester City.

The results might surpri... actually, no, they won't. It's Messi, after all.

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Messi at Manchester United

Messi is played up front alongside Anthony Martial by Louis van Gaal.

He earns himself 19 Man of the Match awards during his season, fast becoming their key player. His average rating of 8.15 is far ahead of anyone else in the team.

48 Games 26 Goals 19 Assists

With Messi firing on all cylinders, United win the league by the slimmest of margins... a point separates them from City and Chelsea.

In Europe, things don't go so well. After a disappointing group stage where they finish second in their group, United are drawn against Barcelona in the first knockout round and beaten 3-2 on aggregate.

There is disappointment in the cups, too: United are beaten by Everton in the fourth round of both the FA Cup AND the League Cup.

(Image: Getty)

Messi at Chelsea

Messi is played as a central attacking midfielder with Eden Hazard on the left, Willian on the right and Diego Costa as the lone striker.

He scores more than for Manchester United but sets up fewer, and his average rating is 8.04.

But there are a staggering 17 Man of the Match awards and he is the key man as Chelsea win the league by five points , with City second and Arsenal third.

51 Games 28 Goals 13 Assists

The Blues are knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage on penalties by Bayern Munich, after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

Jose Mourinho’s side also reach the FA Cup final but it proves to be a miserable afternoon for them after they’re on the wrong end of a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.

Messi turns in an uncharacteristically poor performance at Wembley in that one, but he makes amends as Chelsea win the League Cup final, notching in a a 3-1 win over Swansea.

Messi at Manchester City

The Argentine is played in a central attacking midfield by Manuel Pellegrini, with Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne either side. His international colleague Sergio Aguero leads the line.

Messi earns 13 Man of the Match awards – 3 more than Aguero – and marginally outshines him with an average rating of 8.14.

47 Games 29 Goals 17 Assists

City win the league by four points ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal, but there is not so much joy in the cup competitions.

Pellegrini’s men are beaten by Messi’s former club Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals and suffer defeat at the hands of Spurs in the FA Cup fifth round.

A weakened City team is also knocked out by Southampton on penalties in the fourth round of the League Cup.