Lionel Messi is reported to have personally contacted Lautaro Martinez, as he aims to help Barcelona beat Real Madrid to the Argentine’s signature.
Martinez, who’s played with Messi in the past for Argentina, has established himself as a one of the world’s best young forwards in recent times.
The youngster, who turned 22 just two months ago, has bagged 12 goals and three assists in 44 games for Inter Milan since his move to the San Siro from Racing Club in 2018.
And it seems like this form, as well as his displays overall, have caught the eyes of both Barca and Real Madrid.
As per Don Balon, both the Blaugrana and Los Blancos are in the hunt for the forward, whose currently price tag is sat at around €55M.
The report also notes that Messi contacted the player following Germany’s 2-2 draw with Argentina last night in order to inform him of his desire to see him move to the Camp Nou in the near future.
Martinez showed Barcelona exactly what he’s about in the Champions League last week, as he bagged a fine solo goal to hand Inter a 1-0 lead against the Blaugrana, however the Italian giants ended up losing the affair thanks to a double from Suarez.
Given that they’ve just signed Antoine Griezmann, we don’t think Barca really need another attacker, especially seeing as they already have stars like Ansu Fati and Carles Perez breaking into the club’s first team.
However, if this report is anything to go off, it seems like both Barca and Messi want to see the Argentine end up at the Nou Camp sometime in the near future.