Forget it. Leo Messi has decided to stay in Barcelona, putting an end, at least for the moment, to the most watched soap opera of the summer. However, this is not a choice of the heart, on the contrary, it would be more correct to say that it comes "reluctantly": the will to leave the Blaugrana remains intact, so as to leave the feeling of an earthquake only postponed. “I was sure I was free to leave, the president has always said that at the end of the season I could decide whether to stay or not – explained la Pulce in a long interview with Goal.com -. Now they cling to the fact that I didn't say it before June 10th, when it is clear that on June 10th we were in the running for La Liga in the midst of this tremendous coronavirus. This is the reason why I will stay at Barcelona, the president told me that the only way to leave is to pay the 700 million euro clause and this is impossible. There was another way and that was to go to court, but I would never sue Barcelona because it's the club I love."
In short, the case is closed, at least until January. Because there, if things don't change, Messi will be only 6 months away from the expiry of his contract and therefore free to agree with whoever he wants. Guardiola's Manchester City will wait at the window, but many will be enticed by this sensational opportunity: after all, taking the Argentine phenomenon on a free transfer doesn't happen every day. However, his permanence, however forced, in Barcelona could also have consequences on the transfer market of others, in particular for Juventus and Inter, engaged in negotiations for Suarez and Vidal. It must be said that the two, unlike Messi, were kicked out directly by Bartomeu, which is why they should leave Catalunya regardless of the Argentine 10, whose word however always carries important weight.
For both, moreover, these are negotiations in an advanced stage, with the only knot of severance payments to be resolved: in short, Juve and Inter can nurture rather well-founded hopes of closing soon, even if the Bianconeri also keep the Dzeko track alive, scoring against Italy in the 1-1 in the Nations League. In the meantime the nerazzurri have closed for Kolarov and are very close to Darmian: useful names at squad level, but still far from Conte's wishes. His dream is Kanté but to achieve it there is a need to sell, which Marotta and Ausilio are unable to do at the moment. "They're writing about everything but I have another three years on my contract with Inter..." said Skriniar, one of the candidates to raise cash: a statement that leaves all doors open, but which reiterates how to sell, nowadays , is definitely more difficult than buying.
The next few days will also be very hot for Milan, ready to further shore up the team after the arrivals of Diaz (official) and Tonali (will become between Monday and Tuesday). The next name should be that of Bakayoko, even if Maldini, probably as a pretactic, has cooled the track a bit. However, the French giant likes it a lot, just that Chelsea continue to ask for 30 million to fix the ransom: too many for the Rossoneri, who thanks to the boy's will aim to lower the figure by 5/10 million. At the same time via Aldo Rossi he is also working on a deputy Ibra (Jovic is back in vogue), on a right full-back and on a central defence, all without forgetting the possible surprise hit (like Chiesa, obviously if the conditions exist).
Then the Rome-Naples axis continues to boil, with the Milik-Under exchange (plus adjustment in favor of the Azzurri) now in the pipeline: the Turkish player accepted the 3 million four-year deal proposed by De Laurentiis and the Pole too, after some hesitation, decided to move to the capital. But that's not all because Napoli also want Veretout, valued at 35 million and Sokratis Papastatopoulos, Arsenal central player with a (far from brilliant) past at Milan. To score the double blow, however, Koulibaly will first need to be sold, so Manchester City offered 65 million: much less than the 90 requested by the Azzurri, but still enough to sit down to negotiate. If the deal goes through, Napoli will have the treasure necessary to carry out its summer revolution. Instead, you continue the Lazio market with the lights off, however ready to close for Fares from Spal and Muriqi from Fenerbahce.
"We know it's going to be a very difficult season, in fact I've been promised several signings..." Inzaghi pointed out at the press conference: the fans, always very skeptical of Lotito, hope that's really the case...
