Liverpool defender Andy Robertson admits that he hopes Lionel Messi doesn’t sign for The Reds’ Premier League rivals, Manchester City.
Messi, 33, has made it known he wants to leave Barcelona during this transfer window. However, LaLiga seems to have taken the Catalan club’s side with respect to the terms of the Argentina international’s contract.
Messi believes that due to a clause in his current deal, he would be entitled to leave for free before the start of the 2020/21 campaign. Yet, Barcelona and LaLiga now insist that clause expired earlier this summer, meaning Messi’s release fee is now around €700 million.
Manchester City have been reported to be interested in bringing Messi to the Premier League in a move that would see him reunited with former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.
Scotland captain Robertson was speaking at a press conference ahead of his country’s UEFA Nations League clash against Israel when he made the comments about Messi’s potential arrival in the UK.
“I hope it doesn’t happen, of course. From a complete selfish point of view, I hope it doesn’t happen.
“I hope he stays at Barca but look he is one of, if not the best player to ever play the game. So for him to go to one of your nearest rivals is probably never a good sign.
“He is a fantastic player, I have no doubt if he came to the Premier League he would bring the exact same quality and same passion and everything he brings at Barca.
“I think Liverpool have ruled out that we are going to sign him so I don’t want him anywhere near the Premier League but we’ll wait and see what happens with that.
“Obviously, you know, you can see the uncertainty of Barca, I think everyone can see that and hopefully they get it resolved, but if he comes to the Premier League we’ll deal with it.
“It will be great for the lads to play against him because I’ve played against him twice and it’s the hardest games I’ve ever played.
“You need to stay on watch against him at all times, he can pop up out of nowhere.
“He’s a fantastic player, like I said, probably the best ever but hopefully he stays in Spain.”
Liverpool beat Manchester City to the Premier League title by a massive 18 points last season. However, City have since brought in Nathan Aké from Bournemouth and Valencia’s Ferran Torres as they look to reclaim the trophy in 2020/21.
Signing Lionel Messi, even at 33, would be one of the biggest transfers in the history of football and swing the balance firmly back in City’s favour. Still, you can never discount Jürgen Klopp’s mighty Redmen either!
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