Beware of the ramifications of following someone on Instagram.

Real Madrid Prepare £75 Million Bid for Eden Hazard

A day after being left out of Barcelona's starting XI in a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad, Lionel Messi did the unthinkable. Not only did the four-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner miss an open training session, but a simple follow of Chelsea's official Instagram page sparked rampant speculation.

Is Messi finally prepared to depart the Camp Nou for Stamford Bridge?

Manchester United Prepare to Offer Sergio Ramos £135,000 in Weekly Wages

To be fair, conspiracy theorists should also note that he follows Manchester City and Newell's Old Boys on Instagram as well.

But where there's smoke, there's fire.

According to Sport (via Goal Transfer Talk), Chelsea have been in contact with Messi's father to discuss bringing the 27-year-old to London in the summer. Per the reports, the club is prepared to pay his €250 million release clause.

Conspiracy theorists, however, should also take note of Jose Mourinho's refuted claims from last November.

"My reaction [to the Messi rumors] is that your world changed so much, that our world also changed so much," the Portuguese manager said in response to Cesc Fabregas' desires to link up with his former Barcelona teammate (via the Daily Mail). "And I think in this moment, it's so easy, so easy to have non-truths circulating. It's so easy, that some people put news without confirming nor speaks about rumours. Obviously it's not true. Obviously it's not true."

Obviously, Barcelona's recent troubles will do little to dispatch the rumor mill. But it'll take more than Instagram and a parent-teacher conference to complete the transfer of the game's most valuable commodity.