Lionel Messi has told Barcelona’s board of directors that he wants five players to strengthen the squad ahead of the 2019/20 season.
2018/19 for Barcelona did not go according to plan despite the La Liga win. The season was an amazing one up until May, when the Catalans threw away a 3-0 lead against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals and were blown away by Valencia in the Copa del Rey Finals, leaving them to win only one trophy instead of the proposed three.
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Lionel Messi, the club’s captain believes that signing players who could be good regulars, backups or even competitors would be a good idea to get the best out of the entire squad. Hence, he has asked the club to sign as many as five players during the summer’s transfer window including a goalkeeper, according to Diario GOL.
With Jasper Cillessen set to depart, Barcelona will need a second fiddle to Marc Andre Ter-Stegen. Yann Sommer and Luis Neto are the two names that have been linked with a move to the Camp Nou of late, but their captain has said that Wolfsburg stopper Koen Casteels could be the ideal fit in between the sticks for the Copa del Rey matches.
In the defence, Messi has asked for Matthijs de Ligt’s signatures at all costs. The Argentinian believes that signing the Ajax star would be a massive statement and that Barcelona’s heart of the defence would be sorted for years to come. Additionally, he wants Junior Firpo of Real Betis to come in as Jordi Alba’s backup instead of Raphael Guerreiro.
Lastly, Messi wants reinforcements in the attack as well. He is not a big fan of Barcelona’s decision of signing Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid after the player’s behaviour earlier towards the club, but he is of the opinion that a striker needs to be signed. Finally, with Philippe Coutinho set to depart Catalonia, Messi wants a reunion of himself, Luis Suarez and Neymar.
How much money do you think Barcelona would spend on signing the five desired players?