Barcelona presented offer to join Russian league - but they won't be up against Moscow giants or Zenit

As the subject of Catalan independence continues to engulf Barcelona and La Liga, the Spanish giants have been offered a chance to play elsewhere - the Russian second division.

The Blaugrana have been offered a spot in the National League - the second tier of Russian football.

FC Yenisey Krasnoyarsk - a club based on the Yenisei River, in Siberia’s third largest city - currently sit top of the second division and are gunning for promotion.

But, with tongue firmly in cheek, the Siberian side have taken to Twitter to make a proposal to the Catalan giants.

"We already know that Barcelona can change championships for the better, so we invite you to participate in the best football league in the world - FNL," declared the post.

Soon after, the league’s official account also got involved, posting a picture of Lionel Messi in a Russian mixed zone (following one of Barca’s previous Champions League trips to the country).

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said on Monday the club would have to decide which football league to play in if Catalonia gained independence from Spain.

More than 840 people needed medical attention after riot police clashed with members of the public trying to vote in the referendum - ruled illegal by the Spanish government - on Sunday.

"In the case of independence, the club and the members would have to decide in which league we would play," Bartomeu told reporters after a board meeting.