Inter Milan demand Lionel Messi in exchange of Lautaro Martinez
Inter Milan are getting bold in their negotiations with Barcelona over Lautaro Martinez.
Barcelona’s pursuit of striker Lautaro Martinez is no secret. Countless rumors have floated around about agreements with the player and different proposals to try to get the asking price down.
By and large, Inter have reportedly rejected a couple of offers including ones that involved player swaps. Their stance is to try to get as much money as they can if they are to lose their best striker.
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They have countered some of the offers with the names of the players they would be willing to take in exchange. Unsurprisingly, they are players Barcelona are not going to give up. However, their latest offer proves Inter are not going to make this easy.
According to Diario Sport, Inter have proposed an offer that would see Martinez head to Barcelona with club icon Lionel Messi headed the other direction.
On paper, this offer sounds ridiculous. The Catalans are never going to seriously consider trading their best player and one so emblematic as Messi.
But former Inter president Massimo Moratti believes the Argentine is no longer out of reach.
"“I don’t think (Messi) is a forbidden dream at all. Maybe it wasn’t even before the misfortune. He is at the end of his contract and it would certainly be tempting to bring him (to Inter).Source: Diario Sport"
Messi has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave the club on a free at the end of the season. He has always stated that his goal is to finish his career with Barcelona and will stay as long as the club will have him.
Yet, that Inter no longer consider it a “forbidden dream” demonstrates that they hold the leverage in the negotiations. Barcelona need to buy Martinez but Inter are under no obligation to sell.
In terms of where things stand right now, reports out of Italy state that Inter are not too concerned with the constant rumors. As for Martinez, he is not going to force a move or go public about wanting one.
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Despite Barcelona desperately trying to lower his release clause, all signs seem to point that if they really want Lautaro Martinez then their best bet is to go the direct route and pay the full amount.