Inter’s interest in signing Barcelona captain Lionel Messi dates back to 2016 according to a report from the online edition of La Repubblica.
Soon after Suning purchased the club from Indonesian tycoon Erick Thohir, Inter president Steven Zhang, who was not president at the time, laid out his demands to the then management at the club and demanded that they bring Messi to the club.
No expense would have been spared to bring the multi-time world player of the year to the club but the demands were brought to an abrupt and swift start due to Inter’s Financial Fair Play situation at the time.
Zhang’s desire to land Messi has remained intact ever since then and it now remains to be seen whether Inter are able to tempt the 33-year-old to depart Barcelona, where he has spent the entirety of his career.
The report goes on to explain that doing a deal for Messi will be far from cheap but the cost of his salary will be decreased with thanks to the Italian tax laws. Rather than cost Inter €85 million gross a year, it will cost them €65 million gross a year, provided he signs on the same terms he is currently on at Barcelona.
This season Messi has made 42 appearances across all competitions to date, in which he has scored 30 goals and provided 26 assists for his teammates.