Managing to tempt Lionel Messi away from Barcelona has always seemed to be an impossible job, but one club president doesn’t believe that to be the case any longer.
Inter Milan’s Massimo Moratti has even gone as far as to suggest that any move by the Catalans to acquire Lautaro Martinez could even depend on the inclusion of the Argentine captain.
“He’s (Martinez) a really good guy and he cares about his career,” Moratti told Spanish radio station, Rai, and reported by Sport, “but, as I have said before, we have to see if it’s part of an operation for bigger players, like Messi.
“I don’t know if this situation (with coronavirus) will change anything, but I think we will see strange things at the end of the season.
The thought of Messi plying his trade anywhere other than the Camp Nou would surely be unpalatable to Barca’s supporters, and Josep Maria Bartomeu cannot countenance his club losing their best asset, however, that doesn’t seem to have put off Moratti.
“I don’t think (Messi) is a forbidden dream at all. Maybe it wasn’t even before this misfortune. He is at the end of his contract and it would certainly be attempted to bring him (to Inter),” he added.
It’s abundantly clear what Barca’s No.10 would bring to any other club, despite his advancing years, although there would be an almighty uproar if he ever came close to so doing.
Moratti may believe it’s not a forbidden dream to try to sign him, but the reality will surely remain just that. A dream.