Lionel Messi Doesn't Want Star Midfielder, Who Is Man Utd’s Top Transfer Target, At Barca: Report

Lionel Messi reportedly does not want young talent Jadon Sancho at FC Barcelona. According to a report in Don Balon, the current Barcelona board is seeing Sancho, who has scored 20 goals in 40 games this season for Dortmund, as a long-term replacement for Messi at Nou Camp.

Sancho is being chased by several clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid ahead of the summer transfer market.

The report stated that Messi, who has imposed many decisions at Barca, has asked the Catalans to not go after Sancho, whose transfer fee is expected to be around $126 million.

Messi’s current contract expires in 2021 and the Argentinian has not signed a contract renewal yet. The last few months have seen several fallouts between the board and the club captain and it is being speculated that Messi could refuse a contract extension at Barcelona, a club he had joined at the age of 13. If Messi refuses to sign a contract extension, the club will need someone like Sancho to carry the it forward in the post-Messi era.

Barcelona's current board comprising of Josep Maria Bartomeu as the president and Eric Abidal as the sporting director is being regarded as the club’s worst-ever management. In the past, Barcelona’s had struck a balance between signing superstars from other European clubs and focusing on young talent from their own youth academy, La Masia. However, the last couple of years have seen Bartomeu & Co. chasing expensive signings, which have more or less failed to justify their respective transfer fees.

The stars, who were signed by Barca at hefty prices but have failed to live up to the expectations, include Atletico Madrid’s Arda Turan, Andre Gomes from Valencia, Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho, and Ousmane Dembele, who moved from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona for approximately $163 million and has missed around 60 games in as many as three seasons.

Irrespective of Messi and Barcelona’s decision regarding Sancho, the Englishman already has Man Utd, who are doing their best to bring the Dortmund midfielder to Old Trafford this summer.