Former Barcelona star, Rivaldo, has weighed into the debate of Lionel Messi perhaps joining Inter Milan as part of any deal to bring Lautaro Martinez to the Camp Nou.
Speaking in his Betfair column and reported by the Daily Star, the Brazilian all but ruled out the notion of the Blaugranes best player leaving for any other club, at least not at this point.
“I think he has no reasons to leave Spain,” Rivaldo said.
“[…] Even if a move to Inter could be financially encouraging for the player, I suspect that wouldn’t be enough to convince him. I think this is more like propaganda from Inter’s president than a real possibility in the next transfer market.
“Of course, Inter is a big European club that have recruited excellent players in the past and managed to win some important titles. But I can’t imagine Messi changing club while he is still at his best level at Barcelona.”
It’s a matter for debate as to whether he would ever leave the Catalan club, though there would undoubtedly be more arguments for him to do so as his career begins to wind down when he’s approaching retirement.
At present, he’s still a huge part of the Camp Nou furniture, and has probably got one more Champions League title left in him if Barcelona can recruit well in the summer.
His goals and assists records will already stand the test of time, but perhaps another couple of seasons to make them virtually unreachable will also continue to provide motivation for the dimunutive Argentine.