Barcelona Rumors: Wijnaldum's Agent Makes Shocking Lionel Messi Revelation

Before Gini Wijnaldum decided to join Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi was really looking forward to playing with him at Barcelona, his agent said.

Wijnaldum is set to complete his sensational move to PSG this month after the French side won the bidding war against Barcelona.

Reflecting on his client’s failed transfer to Barca, Humphry Nijman revealed that Messi himself was vocal about his desire to have Wijnaldum as his teammate.

“It was a very big compliment of course that Lionel Messi was outspoken about it and was really keen on letting Barcelona bring in Georginio [Wijnaldum],” Nijman recently said on “The Here We Go” podcast. “Gini saw it as a very, very big compliment.”

Nijman further recalled their attempt to “reach an agreement” with Barcelona, with the Catalan club having been the favorite to sign Wijnaldum due to his good relationship with Barca boss Ronald Koeman. However, PSG appeared to have made a better offer and project for the Dutch midfielder.

“From Barcelona we knew of course before that the manager Mr. [Ronald] Koeman would like to bring Gini to Barca and that they worked together with the Dutch national team and that was quite successful,” the agent recounted.

“With Barca we had some talks and initially it all looked very good and we tried to reach an agreement there but meanwhile PSG kept telling us interest was quite serious,” he continued. “When both offers came on the table then, at a certain point, you have to make a choice.”

As for Wijnaldum, his decision to take his talents to Parc des Princes wasn’t really about the money. Instead, it was the French side’s talent and potential to win that convinced him.

"I'm happy to join a club like Paris Saint-Germain," Wijnaldum said in his first official interview at Parc des Princes. "Obviously it's a club with really good players, a good manager who spoke to before I joined the club. We know each other from years ago.

"As a football player, you always want to play with the best players around you and when I look at the team and also when I spoke with the manager, I saw a team full of talented players and big players.”

Atop that, the exiting Liverpool star also stressed that he believes PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino has the ability to bring the best out of his players.

"I also saw a manager who can make the players even better and also capable of bringing all those players together to make a strong, strong team,” Wijnaldum added. “I come here trying to write history with this unbelievable team."