Barcelona have seen their chances of bringing in one of their primary targets blocked by their captain, who has suggested a better alternative.
Lautaro Martinez has been tipped to make the move from Inter Milan to Barcelona in the summer, but to his and Barca’s inconvenience, there are a lot of hurdles that are being posed due to Inter’s resilience and business-minded behaviour. The Serie A outfit has already turned down several swap deal proposals made by Barca.
Amid the latest talk, the Blaugrana have offered 90 million euros, plus Arturo Vidal and Antoine Griezmann for the Argentina international and it seems that the Nerazzurri would finally be convinced by the offer. However, Lionel Messi has thwarted Barca’s approach and insisted that they do not exchange their French ace, as per Don Balon.
Griezmann did not initially enjoy a great relationship or chemistry with Messi on the pitch, but over time things have changed for the better. The World Cup winner’s performances have been decent as he has eventually settled into the Camp Nou. All this has been in picture with the former Atletico man playing as a left winger and thus, he promises to be all the more productive if employed in his preferred role of a striker.
On the flipside, Lautaro Martinez has not gotten much experience under his belt and does not possess extraordinary traits that make him worth over a 100 million euros. That being said, Barcelona have never really trusted Griezmann or given him enough chances which could change going into the next season because Luis Suarez is well beyond his prime.
Instead of pursuing Lautaro Martinez with another offer or two, Lionel Messi has asked the Barca board to go for Neymar. Paris Saint-Germain have now valued him at 164 million euros, much lesser than the 200 million euros that was the initial evaluation and thus, the Brazilian could become affordable despite the Catalans’ recent financial crisis. PSG had shown interest in signing Ousmane Dembele, so such a swap may benefit Barcelona.
Do you think Neymar would arrive at the Camp Nou for a second tenure this summer?