Lionel Messi wants €200 million superstar at Barcelona, Real Madrid to offer Marco Asensio in exchange for €85 million superstar and more: Transfer Roundup, 25 May 2019

By Shambhu Ajith

Modified May 25, 2019 13:00 GMT

Lionel Messi has asked Barcelona to make a huge signing

Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to sign Kylian Mbappe

Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Second Leg

Barcelona are eyeing a deal for Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe. Lionel Messi has told the top brass that he would be delighted to partner up with the Frenchman up top for Barcelona. The Cules are willing to offer €150 million and Philippe Coutinho in order to convince PSG to part with the 20-year-old.

The arrival of Philippe Coutinho in Paris could further the Ligue 1 Champions' chances of retaining Neymar Jr. whose future continues to be the subject of much speculation. In case, PSG decide to reject Coutinho, Barcelona are willing to include Ivan Rakitic in the operation.

Rakitic is one player who has been widely tipped to move away from Barcelona in the summer. Barcelona are not entirely convinced with the consistency of Dembele and are looking to bolster their attack as multiple previous signings made in that same regard have failed to work out.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Sripad