Lionel Messi is the latest footballer to copy Phil Jones

Phil Jones may not ever become the greatest player in Manchester United's history - as Alex Ferguson predicted - but the defender is a trend setter.

Jones wasn't the first footballer to dye his hair blonde, but everyone knows he legitimised the look for footballers everywhere, and has clearly had an impact on Lionel Messi. It's also possible Messi has never heard of Phil Jones, and wasn't in any way influenced by the United defender, but we'd like to think Messi's new hairstyle is a direct effect of Jones' new look. The Barcelona forward showed off his new hair on Instagram.

cambio d look? #blondeboy

A photo posted by AntoRoccuzzo88 (@antoroccuzzo88) on Jul 24, 2016 at 4:20am PDT

Irish fans might get to see Messi's new do in the flesh. The 29-year-old is due to join up with Barcelona's squad and begin pre-season training on Monday. The La Liga side will play Celtic at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, and were due to rest a number of first-team players. However, with Messi due to link-up with the squad, he could be in attendance in Dublin 4 next week. https://twitter.com/FCBarcelona/status/756931404689276929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw