Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho denied reports suggesting that they are planning to strike a lucrative deal to acquire Lionel Messi from FC Barcelona.

The Express recently reported that Messi could move to Chelsea via a whopping 200 million-pound transfer deal, pointing out that the striker is growing unhappy at FC Barcelona.

Reports indicated that Messi feels that he deserves a higher salary than Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentina international is reportedly irked by the fact that FC Barcelona are leaning towards making Neymar the face of the franchise in the near future.

Sources also added that Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, Messi's close friend, is also trying to convince the 27-year-old forward to move to London for a fresh challenge in his career after successfully breaking the goal record in the Spanish La Liga and UEFA Champions League earlier this week.

AS also reported that Messi recently had a phone conversation with Mourinho where the FC Barcelona superstar allegedly expressed interest in moving to Chelsea in the next transfer window in January.

When asked about the reports, Mourinho vehemently denied the talks about the lucrative deal, saying that media personalities are just fond of writing news reports without verifying its authenticity.

"My reaction is that your world changed so much that our world also changed so much. And I think, in this moment, it's so easy, so easy to have non-truths circulating," Mourinho said via ESPN FC. "It's so easy that some people put news without confirming or speaks about rumors. Obviously it's not true. Obviously it's not true."

Messi, who has already scored 17 goals in all competitions for FC Barcelona this season, recently said that he wants to win more titles at Camp Nou. The Argentine star added that he wants to finish his career with FC Barcelona, but he conceded that he might part ways with the club, depending on future circumstances.

"I have said it many times, if it were for me, I would stay forever," Messi said. "But as I said before, everything does not always come out as you want -- even more in football, which changes so much and in which so many things can happen. It is complicated, even more given what is happening today at Barcelona."

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