Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona could lead to the formation of a dreamed partnership with long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Barca captain is planning to exit from Camp Nou this summer and Juventus would want to see him play in Serie A.
Upon learning of the news that Messi is no longer interested to continue with Barcelona next season, the Turin club reportedly reached out to the Argentine's camp to explore the possibility of bringing him to Italy. Juventus did approach Jorge Messi, father of the superstar, and serving as his agent.
There was no mention of how the discussion between Messi and Juventus went but it was clear that the Serie A giants are looking to form a dream team that is headlined by two of the football world's most prolific goalscorers. The Bianconeri joining the race to sign Messi is the latest twist on the saga that could see the Argentine donning a new shirt in the upcoming campaigns.
The Italians join the elite list of clubs targeting to win Messi's signature and all seemed willing to pay the price of what is billed as the most expensive transfer in football history, according to Bleacher Report.
Apart from Juventus, the most aggressive pursuers include Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City but the latter appeared to be in pole position to land the six-time Ballon d'Or winner. City's advantage lies in the presence of Pep Guardiola on the side and the team manager worked and won titles for six seasons with the Argentine superstar.
Recent reports claimed the Premier League club is ready to talk business with Camp Nou on Messi, that is if the La Liga giants are willing to let go of their prized asset.
And that happening seemed a remote possibility basing the latest development from Spain. Messi made a formal transfer request on the belief that he is eligible to walk away from his existing deal with Barcelona for free.
Yet according to Metro, the Spanish side will not be signing off the Barca icon to a new team and not collect the necessary fee. Barcelona insisted that the exit clause being cited by Messi's camp has already expired in June, meaning any team wanting to sign the 33-year-old forward must pay the full release fee of £632 million.
In a statement, La Liga is supporting Barcelona's stance on the issue and made clear that the deal between Messi and his club "is currently in force and has a 'termination clause' applicable to the event that Lionel Andrés Messi decides to activate the early unilateral termination of the contract."
Likewise, the Spanish league emphasized that in the absence of payment required by Barcelona to release Messi, the latter will not be allowed to leave, somehow signifying a likely messy ending on the contract dispute between the Argentine and the Catalans.
