Lane Kiffin invites Lionel Messi to kick for Ole Miss

Lionel Messi needs a team and Lane Kiffin needs a reliable kicker.

Could this be a match made in Heaven?

On Thursday, Messi shocked the world when he announced he will not be returning to FC Barcelona. The 34-year-old forward joined Barca’s academy in 2000 and had been with the first team since 2004. He scored 672 goals over 778 games for a club that won 10 LaLiga titles and four Champions League titles during his tenure. 

The Argentinian soccer superstar has been a free agent since his previous contract expired on June 30. Contract negotiations between FC Barcelona and Messi fell apart due to “financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations),” the club said in a press release.

Messi will now begin the search for a new club. Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain are potential options.

What about Ole Miss?

Or what about Oxford, Mississippi? Kiffin has a brilliant idea. 

Just after the announcement, the affable Ole Miss coach known for his sense of humor on Twitter asked Messi to come give Oxford a try using his favorite recruiting hashtag, #ComeToTheSip.

#ComeToTheSip kicking competition is wide open. Only extra points and kickoffs! @OleMissFB https://t.co/qkUH8xCm8L

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) August 5, 2021

Only extra points and kickoffs? Seems pretty low stakes. Plus, he would get to live in America’s #1 college town. 

Kiffin’s kicking core is talented, but they are young. The three kickers currently on the roster are redshirt sophomore Cale Nation, redshirt freshman Land Gerhart and true freshmen Caden Costa. I’m sure they would be open to taking a few kicking pointers from one of the greatest athletes of their time. 

Messi did not go to college, so technically he has four years of eligibility left.

Kiffin’s love of Twitter is well-documented. At SEC Media Days a few weeks ago he discussed why he so often uses the platform to communicate.

“I do enjoy the fan part,” Kiffin said. “I think it’s comical when I jump on there and read things and how people react to things or the rumors that people write. So it just gives people a platform to say and do whatever they want. I guess sometimes I do that too. So it allows me to kind of be a normal person on there.”

Kiffin recently stated the difficulties that Nick Saban’s success at Alabama creates for other SEC coaches in recruiting. With Alabama’s recent kicking woes, maybe this is an opportunity for Kiffin to get a leg up on his former boss.

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