Since we’ve now exited the transfer period, the exciting stories have dried up a bit, but you can always count on Barcelona to spice things up with some unplanned and unnecessary drama.
The latest kicked off when Eric Abidal gave an interview in the Spanish media explaining he felt some players had let down former manager Ernesto Valverde, which Lionel Messi felt was a bit of a personal attack.
The Argentinian superstar took to social media to have a go at the former France international, which has led to stories of discontent, and they, in turn, have metamorphosed into claims he could leave for Manchester City and Manchester United, who are reportedly interested.
This was all according to Gazzetta dello Sport, so we decided to go have a look.
The Italian newspaper does indeed have a two page spread on the situation at Barcelona, and it does mention both Manchester City and Manchester United.
However, what it doesn’t say is that Pep Guardiola or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are actively looking to recruit Messi.
After Gazzetta tell their readers about the clause stipulating the forward can leave Barcelona on a free at the end of the season (with some reports suggesting it’s only for exotic clubs), what they do is list the ‘possible acquirers’.
This is what they wrote: “Of course, the possible acquirers are few. Excluding exotic destinations, rich but not competitive, we think of Pep Guardiola’s City, as long as he stays there, or of United. We think of Neymar’s PSG, where the two friends could reunite, but not at the Nou Camp.
“We think of Juventus, who have already managed with great results the impossible acquisition, and could think of reuniting the two great rivals, Leo and Cristiano. We think of Inter, who has a giant like Suning on their shoulders and could retrace the steps of Juventus with CR7”.
As you can see, nowhere do they say those clubs are actively interested (although, they probably would be, because, you know, it’s Lionel Messi); they simply suggest them as the possible options.
Don’t believe everything you read on social media, folks…
