{"id":1139477,"date":"2020-04-11T13:45:16","date_gmt":"2020-04-11T12:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1139477"},"modified":"2020-04-11T12:34:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-11T11:34:43","slug":"lionel-messi-inter-transfer-reports-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/lionel-messi-inter-transfer-reports-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi says Inter transfer reports are “fake news”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lionel Messi has dismissed reports linking him with a move to either Inter Milan or hometown club Newell’s Old Boys.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 32-year-old Barcelona forward previously spoke about the idea of winding down an illustrious playing career in his native Argentina.<\/p>\n

The legend of Messi: Five key things to know\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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  • Messi broke into Barcelona’s first team in 2004 under Frank Rijkaard.<\/li>\n
  • He since registered 627 goals and 261 assists in 718 appearances.<\/li>\n
  • Messi, who has won 10 La Liga titles and four European Cups, recently picked up a record sixth Ballon d’Or.<\/li>\n
  • So far this season, he’s bagged 24 goals across 31 matches in all competitions.<\/li>\n
  • Across Europe’s top five leagues, only Messi and Jadon Sancho have reached double figures in terms of goals and assists.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7533381<\/p>\n

    However, chances of that happening anytime soon seem unlikely, even though Messi is yet to pen a new Bar\u00e7a deal with his present contract expiring in June 2021.<\/p>\n

    Since breaking into their first-team under Frank Rijkaard in 2004, he’s gone on to amass an incredible 627 goals, as well as creating a further 261, in 718 appearances.<\/p>\n

    Goalscoring and creating aside, his all-round play has earned him a record six Ballon d’Or crowns, enabling the Catalan giants to ten La Liga titles, four European Cups and six Copa del Reys.<\/p>\n

    Widely considered the greatest of all time, it’s hard to see him playing for another giant of European football, especially given the emotional connection he’s built in Spain’s second-largest city, and Messi himself called out the “fake news”<\/a> by TNT in Argentina, which suggested a departure from the Camp Nou in the near future.<\/p>\n