Soccer Transfer News and Rumors: Will FC Barcelona Sell Lionel Messi to Bayern Munich?
Lionel Messi is continuously being linked to a possible move out of FC Barcelona, and recent reports named Bayern Munich as one of the possible destinations of the superstar forward.
Messi, the all-time Spanish La Liga and UEFA Champions League leading scorer, reportedly had clashes with FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, creating speculation that the 27-year-old will eventually leave the club before his contract runs out in 2019.
A Messi-to-Bayern deal makes sense because the German club is capable of shedding a huge amount of money to acquire the Argentine. Messi also has ties with the club, having developed a strong relationship with current Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola during their partnership at Camp Nou.
But while acquiring Messi will be a huge boost to Bayern Munich, club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge played down talks about a possible transfer deal for the Argentina international, saying that Messi should not leave his club.
"Messi and Barcelona are like a marriage for a lifetime," Rummenigge told reporters. "They should not be separated from each other, just like Bayern and Philipp Lahm."
Rummenigge is also convinced that FC Barcelona will not let go of Messi and the club will do anything possible to make the Santa Fe, Argentina native happy at Camp Nou.
"I know those in charge at Barcelona pretty well, they will never sell him," Rummenigge added. "He has a 250 million-euro release clause. Messi has to stay at Barcelona."
Messi, who has tallied 21 goals and 10 assists in 20 Spanish La Liga games this season, is also being mentioned as one of the top transfer targets of Barclays Premier League clubs Chelsea and Manchester United.
However, Chelsea assistant manager Steve Holland recently revealed that Jose Mourinho is not planning to make a run at acquiring Messi. Holland said that it would be against FIFA's Financial Fair Play because the Blues will have to spend £500 million for the deal to cover Messi's release clause, wages and bonuses.
"This club conforms with financial fair play - we've brought one or two players in over the last 12 months but it's quite clear that players have been sold to balance the books," Holland told Metro UK. "When you look at the numbers being mentioned around the Messi deal, I think it's almost an impossible deal for any club."
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