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‘Not the time’ to discuss possible Messi move, says PSG’s Leonardo
PARIS, Dec 6, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain sporting director
Leonardo on Saturday played down the possibility of Lionel Messi joining the
French champions.
Following Wednesday’s Champions League win at Manchester United, Neymar —
a former team-mate of Messi’s at Barcelona — said he would like to play
alongside the Argentina forward again.
“We have to respect Messi and Barcelona. Messi is a Barcelona player. When
someone talks abut our player, we’re unhappy, so we don’t talk about other
clubs’ players,” he told Canal.
“It’s not the time to talk about that, to talk about the transfer window,
we’re thinking about our season, our goals, staying focused.
“We have the squad to do that, a competitive team even if we rotate
players,” he added.
On Friday, Barca coach Ronald Koeman criticised interim club president
Carles Tusquets who said earlier in the week they should have sold the record
six-time Ballon d’Or winner during the summer.
The 33-year-old made an attempt to leave the Camp Nou before backing down
in September, although he is free to leave next year.
Additionally, Brazilian Leonardo said talks are ongoing with France World
Cup winner Kylian Mbappe about a new deal, with his contract up in June 2022.
“It’s moving along well. We’ve taken steps forward compared to 10 or 15
years ago, we’ll keep on going,” he said.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1225 hrs