Sergio Aguero has urged Lionel Messi to play for his seven-a-side Kings League team one day.
The 35-year-old is chairman of Kunisports, one of 12 teams making up the wacky competition founded by Gerard Pique and Twitch streamer Ibai Llanos in December.
It's a quirky tournament, featuring 'golden cards' - special advantages teams can select pre-kick-off, such as removing an opposition player for two minutes - and has attracted names such as Ronaldinho, Iker Casillas, and Andrea Pirlo.
Goals in the first two minutes of the second half count double, and a couple of minutes before half-time a gigantic die is rolled to determine how many players each team will be stuck with until the break.
While some players are ex-pros, the league has appealed to current professional players when they have time off, such as Mexican striker Javier Hernandez, as well as players lower down the Catalan league system.
Asked about the prospects of former Argentina team-mate and room-mate Messi joining, Aguero told ESPN: 'We haven't spoken about it. I think it's a little complicated at the moment with the schedule, but I hope one day he can play for us.
'Many stars have played and more want to come. We've seen Chicharito, Ronaldinho, Pirlo, Shevchenko, and Casillas play for some of the other teams.
'There are a lot of players keen [to represent Kunisports], but obviously with the timing and the distances involved, it's not been possible for a lot of them, but there are many ex-players interested in playing. It's just a case of finding the dates.
Messi's immediate future lies with Inter Miami in the MLS, but it is possible that he could find time to play in the off-season, as Hernandez did.
Fixtures are played weekly and after the regular season, eight of the 12 teams advance to the play-offs.
The Kings League has a devoted following - almost five million viewers have tuned into matchday seven across Twitch and YouTube.
In March, the Final Four stage of the competition was held in front of an almost-full Camp Nou, showing the fervour and enthusiasm that surrounds its fresh twist on the beautiful game.
Aguero said: ''It's different to how I experienced the game as a professional. It's more about having fun and entertaining people. There are the novelty cards and we put on a bit of a show to entertain. It's very different to traditional football.'
One of the blessings of watching the league is seeing Aguero thrive again - the other week, he stuck three past Iker Casillas in a 4-3 win over Ultimate Mostoles.
In a low-pressure environment, players can express themselves and have fun, but you'd hope so for the pay cut some have seen - the league pays around £64 (€75) per game.
At the beginning of the season, players were drafted after undergoing physical tests; fitness is a big plus in this competition.
Explaining the idea behind his brainchild, Pique said: 'The way of living sport has changed and that is why we have to revolutionise traditional sport; young people can't stand a full game and pay more attention to the networks, alternative or multi-screen channels.
'With cameras and microphones you can access the changing rooms, see how the players talk to the coaches, see how people buy and sell in the transfer market, follow the draft.'