Inter Milan has first option on Messi

Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Inter Milan has an informal agreement with Barcelona right wing attacker and Argentinian international Lionel Messi (22).

Inter president Massimo Moratti would have closed a verbal deal with the player's father and agent Jorge Messi that they will first negotiate with the Italian club if Messi would have to leave Barcelona in the future for whatever reason, also because the player would prefer to join Inter in that case.


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Messi renewal negotiations to start next month

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that the negotiations on the renewal of the contract of Barcelona right wing attacker and Argentinian international Lionel Messi (22) will start next month (read more here).

Since both parties agree that this is not an emergency case, Barcelona and Jorge Messi, the player's father and agent, would have agreed to postpone the talks until September, when the transfer window will have ended and the club has already competed for the two super cups.


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Manchester City wants first option on Messi

British tabloid The People claims that Manchester City is negotiating to have a first option to sign Barcelona right wing attacker and Argentinian international Lionel Messi (22).

The English club would have been willing to pay a transfer fee of 118 million euro° this summer but Messi doesn't want to leave.

Manchester City would now has asked the player's agent and father Jorge, as well as Barcelona, for an agreement which would see the club have a right of first refusal if the Argentinian ever wants to leave Barcelona.

Due to the interest of Manchester City, Barcelona would have been forced to propose Messi a new contract this month. Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia claims that the English Premier League club would have offered Messi a contract that included a year salary of 12 million euro net.

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Father Messi confident about renewal talks

Asked about the contract renewal negotiations of Barcelona right wing attacker and Argentinian international Lionel Messi (22) (read more here), the player's father and agent Jorge Messi has said in an interview with Catalan radio station Com Ràdio that he doesn't expect any problems:

"There's nothing new to tell you. We won't start talking before they return from the United States.

Barça is the club Leo feels he has to be with and that's it. Everything is fine, there's a good relationship and there won't be any problem. I know they value Lionel because they've already shown it. Leo is feeling very comfortable at the club and with his team-mates so I can't imagine him at another club. Madrid? I didn't hear anything from there.

He's enjoying the pre-season, he's very motivated to be well prepared for a year that will be complicated, with a lot of games. He might be close to the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World player but he's not obsessed by that. We think he can win it but those trophies depend on other people. It can depend on the mood of the moment of the voters. Every player wants to win them but for Leo, the most important thing is to win things with the team."

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Messi will never join Real Madrid

Asked about the rumours that the presidential elections in Madrid in the summer could cause Barcelona right wing attacker and Argentinian international Lionel Messi (21) to join Real Madrid, the player's father and agent Jorge Messi has rejected the idea in an interview with Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo:

"Leo is doing good, he feels happy and appreciated at Barcelona and he's one of the leaders of the team.

He has the last word on this and he's happy at the Camp Nou. So they can talk all they want in Madrid. I'm just saying that Leo is the only one who will decide on his future and he feels very, very, very comfortable in Barcelona. Leo is happy in Barcelona and he will never go to Real Madrid."

pep's opinion:
there was some buzz on this story for a few days but since it all started with an irrelevant quote of arrigo sacchi saying that if florentino pérez will be candidate in the madrid elections, he sure will go after the best players in the world (including messi, mister sacchi? well, he's one of the best at the moment. ok, thanks for that, xavi, what do you think about messi possibly becoming the next figo? pep? mister laporta?), i didn't report on it so far. the same goes for the guardiola-eto'o story, by the way.

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Messi's father leaves Italy door open

Asked about the future of his son, Jorge Messi (picture on the right), the father and agent of Barcelona right wing attacker and Argentinian international Lionel Messi (21), said in an interview with Italian sports site Sportal that the player might end up in Italy one day:

"For the moment we are only thinking of Barcelona, which is like a second home for Leo. He wants to return to his best level after the injuries he had over the last seasons. But it's clear that playing in Italy is the dream of every player, including my son. And since no one knows what the future might hold, let's say that it's possible that this desire may come true sooner or later."

About a possible approach by Italian champions Inter Milan, whose president Massimo Moratti is known to be an admirer of the player (read more here), Messi's father suggested that there have been some vague contacts in the past: "Let's just say there hasn't been any serious contact. There's nothing concrete and I prefer not to add anything to that. But I repeat that things might change in the future."

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