According to a recent report by the Daily Mirror, former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has tipped the Serie A club to possibly complete a sensational deal for the services of Barcelona’s Argentine international superstar Lionel Messi. The Serie A outfit once met the attacker’s £132m release clause, all the way back in 2006 when Messi was still only 18-years-old.
Despite this, the Argentine is said to have rejected the Italian club’s advances in the hopes of having a career at the Nou Camp. The forward’s recent spat with Eric Abidal hasn’t helped the club’s cause though, while the fact that he’s had to take a 70% pay-cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic could be a frustration too. With just a year left on his current contract at Barcelona as well, it does open up the possibility of the Argentine star wanting a fresh challenge in his footballing career.
Moratti told Radio Rai (as cited by Daily Mirror), “I don’t believe Messi is a forbidden dream at all. Maybe it never was even before all this misfortune.
“He is in the final stretch of his contract and, without doubt, it would take a tremendous effort to bring him here. I don’t know if the current situation changes anything for better or for worse.
“But I think we will see some strange things at the end of the year. Martinez is a good boy who cares about his career.
“But we will see if he’s part of a deal to bring in more important players like Messi.”
What Is Lionel Messi’s Legacy At Barcelona?
One of the biggest challenges of studying Lionel Messi’s legacy in Catalonia is the sheer magnitude of content that needs to be analysed. Having initially begun his playing career at Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina, the attacker was signed up by Barcelona as a youngster in the summer of 2000. Since then, the sheer number of world and La Liga records he’s gone on to break is simply unquantifiable. Moreover, the forward’s contributions towards this Barcelona team cannot be put on paper either.
Arguably the best player in the world, Messi has undoubtedly been the greatest player ever to grace the Nou Camp pitch, and that’s apparent from his career numbers so far. Having scored 19 times from 22 appearances this season, the Argentine striker’s figures for Barcelona read 627 goals and 261 assists from a little over 700 appearances.
The Argentine has more goals for Barcelona individually than most of the team does combined. The number ten jersey is a part of Blaugrana history now, and finding a replacement for Messi will surely be an impossible task.
Should The Catalan Side Cash In On Their Superstar?
While most clubs would start thinking about offloading players once they cross the age barrier of thirty, it’s safe to say that Lionel Messi, despite being 32, is still at the top of his game. While there is an obvious lack in his pace and agility, defenders still seem to be dumbfounded consistently by his general footballing ability on the ball. Technically gifted and superior to anyone else in the squad in front of goal, Barcelona will need Messi to guide them back to the top of the European game in the coming years.
The Corona Virus pandemic couldn’t have come at a worse time for a Barcelona, who’ve had to chase Real Madrid atop the La Liga table since their El Clasico defeat. Lionel Messi’s influence within this team simply cannot be underplayed, owing largely to the fact that he’s widely regarded as the greatest footballer ever to grace the sport. Still going strong despite having already entered the second half of his career, it would be silly for the Catalan side to even consider selling Messi to Inter Milan in the summer, irrespective of the amount of money in question.
