Luis Suarez leaving Barcelona could have an impact on Lionel Messi’s chances of staying with the club according to a report in today’s print edition of Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
Newly appointed Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has wasted no time in going to some players and telling them that they are not part of his plans and Suarez is among a group of players to have been told he has no future with the Blaugrana.
Messi and Suarez are not only great teammates but also very close friends and Suarez departing could cause Messi to further reflect on his future with Barcelona, which is already seriously up in the air as is with him understood to have described himself as more outside than inside of Barcelona.
Barcelona are working on the basis that by letting Suarez go they can pursue Inter’s Lautaro Martinez, who Messi has expressed a desire to have alongside him in Catalonia.
Inter however are well aware of Barcelona’s ongoing liquidity problems, which means they cannot afford to meet Inter’s asking price for Lautaro Martinez.
The report concludes that Suarez departing could also lead to Messi considering a move elsewhere, possibly to a city where he has just bought property and moved his business to, Milan.
