Speculation that Lionel Messi is going to leave Barcelona just won’t go away — even when his agent dismisses rumors that he might join Paris Saint-Germain.
Ahead of Barcelona’s titanic tussle with Laurent Blanc’s side, which the Luis Enrique’s men won by three goals to one on Wednesday evening, an agent for the French league talked down the chance of Messi moving to Paris.
Speaking to Sport24 via the Express , the anonymous agent declared that Lionel Messi would simply find Ligue 1 too “prohibitive.”
“The PSG project is exciting, but Ligue 1 is prohibitive. I do not see Messi playing against Guingamp or Reims. It has put off many players. This is also why PSG are obliged to pay their players double their value.”
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president at Paris Saint-Germain, also believes that his club don’t have a chance of signing Lionel Messi in the near future. He dismissed any notion that Cristiano Ronaldo might leave Real Madrid too, insisting that both players have good relationships with their current sides.
“Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are happy at Barcelona and Madrid. I respect these two clubs and I have a good relationship with their presidents. If I was interested in one of their players, first I would talk to their president.”
Meanwhile, the fact that the French agent announced that Lionel Messi wouldn’t sign for Paris Saint-Germain has only increased the rumors that he might end up in the English Premier League instead.
Ever since Lionel Messi insinuated that he might be open to a move away from Barcelona, something he had previously insisted would never occur, the press has been red-hot with allegations that he might join either Chelsea or Manchester City.
Now that Paris Saint-Germain, who are one of the richest clubs in the world, is now allegedly not an option, it narrows down his possible destination to either of the aforementioned Premier League sides or possibly Bayern Munich. However, Munich would probably struggle to seduce Messi for the same reasons as PSG.
Currently neither Manchester City or Chelsea are willing to admit their interest in Messi. Jose Mourinho recently furiously denied such allegations, while Manuel Pellegrini hasn’t even commented on the matter.
If a move for Lionel Messi was made by either one of these clubs, it would be one of the biggest and most expensive transfer battles in the history of world football. Potential figures for his signature have so far ranged from $200 million all the way up to $300 million.
[Image via foot01 ]