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Lionel Messi has been right at the heart of most of Barcelona's enormous success over the last decade or so. The Argentine came through the ranks at La Masia and made his breakthrough under former manager Pep Guardiola. Messi went from being an exciting young prospect to the best player in the world, and now — six Ballons d'Or later — is one of the greatest players to have ever set foot onto the pitch.
To have a player of such immeasurable talent among a team's ranks, it is a given that the personnel playing alongside him have to be of a certain standard as well. That, unfortunately, has been something of a let down from Barcelona in recent years, at least from Messi's perspective.
For every successful signing, such as Luis Suarez — who came to the club as a talented marksman and went on to become one of the greatest Blaugrana players ever — there have been a handful of poor signings such as Kevin-Prince Boateng, Aleix Vidal, and worst of all, Philippe Coutinho.
There have also reportedly been instances where Messi himself has made requests to the board to bring certain players to the Nou Camp. Here, we take a look at four such players that the iconic Blaugrana skipper has allegedly requested Barcelona to sign.
#4 Lautaro Martinez | Inter Milan
The most recent of the four players on this list, Lautaro Martinez, has been well-documented as Barcelona's priority signing this summer. The Argentine striker is one of the most exciting young talents in Europe this year, and has emerged as the ideal candidate for the Catalans to replace Luis Suarez.
Messi was evidently impressed by his young compatriot, who has shared the pitch with him while on international duty. The 33-year-old heaped praise on Lautaro, saying;
"He's [Lautaro] very good, he dribbles well, scores a lot of goals, fight with anyone, works hard, turns things around, look for the ball. He's very complete."
However, the Barcelona captain also maintained that he isn't aware of any ongoing negotiations for the Inter Milan striker who scored 25 goals for club and country this season.
"To be honest, I don't know if there are negotiations underway at the moment for him [Lautaro]."
According to Adrian Ruben Fernandez, the man who spotted Lautaro as a young South American playing in Argentina, Messi personally called El Toro to come play next to him at Barcelona. Speaking to Sport, he said;
"Messi called him and wants him by his side soon, I have no doubt. For that reason, the deal to sign him is almost there."
With Luis Suarez now reportedly set to leave Barcelona for Ajax, a move for Lautaro could very well be on the cards for Barcelona. More so, it would have a significant impact on their captain, who was evidently eager to play alongside his fellow Argentine.
Also read: 5 players who destroyed their parent clubs when on loan
#3 Angel Di Maria | Paris Saint-Germain
The second Argentine on this list, Angel Di Maria, is another one of Lionel Messi's closest friends due to their South American connection. They have served their country together for over a decade and have worked well together on the pitch. Di Maria's connection to Real Madrid, though, always made it an impractical move to play together at club level.
However, that changed when the now-PSG star left Los Blancos to join Manchester United in 2014. After an unsuccessful spell in England, the winger moved to the French capital to join PSG. It was during his stay in Paris that Messi reportedly demanded Di Maria's signing at Barcelona.
Reputed Spanish journalist Eduardo Inda revealed on El Chiringuito de Jugones that Messi asked the board to bring his compatriot to Barcelona in 2017.
The transfer, which was said to cost in the region of €80m, eventually failed to materialise after PSG were adamant on keeping the Argentine. Di Maria himself addressed these rumours in an interview with L'Equippe, saying;
"I was very happy in Paris. But people at the club at the time told me some things, which turned out to be lies in the end. Barcelona tried to get me to come. The two clubs discussed but PSG did not want to sell me and that ended there. These lies annoyed me a lot but, in the end, not leaving was a good thing because I am very happy in Paris."
Di Maria ultimately remained with the Parisiens and has gone on to play a crucial part of their ongoing season. The 32-year-old is in line to start PSG's UCL semi-final against RB Leipzig.
#2 Sergio Aguero | Manchester City
One of Lionel Messi's closest confidants off the pitch, Sergio Aguero has been close friends with the Barcelona captain since well over a decade now. In fact, their bond extends way beyond the extent of the football pitch, as Messi is also the godfather to Sergio's son, Benjamin Aguero.
The Manchester City legend is one of the greatest-ever players the Premier League has witnessed. If Messi got his way, Aguero would have had another chapter of his life playing in LaLiga Santander — albeit for the rivals of his former club, Atletico Madrid.
It was once again Eduardo Inda, speaking on El Chiringuito de Jugones, who stated that Lionel Messi asked Barcelona to sign 'Kun' Aguero as recently as the winter window of 2020 to replace Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan has been far from his best (and injury prone) in recent times, and on the other hand, Inda believed that Aguero was not on the best of terms with City manager Pep Guardiola.
However, the possibility of a winter exit was swiftly ruled out, while a summer move could have been on the cards. The Argentine striker, as per the report, was said to be open to the idea of swapping Manchester for Barcelona at the time as well.
Despite the rumours, there were no real actions taken from the Barcelona board to grant their captain's wish and reunite him with one of his closest friends in the football world.
#1 Neymar | Paris Saint-Germain
The last name on this list is, perhaps, is regarding the biggest open secret there possibly can be in Spain — Barcelona and Messi's desire for Neymar's return.
The Brazilian superstar had the world at his feet while he was at the Nou Camp, playing alongside fellow South Americans Messi and Suarez to form one of the most devastating frontlines in football history. The trio led the Catalans' charge from the front and won a historic European treble in 2015. They were simply unstoppable.
However, all that changed in 2017 when Paris Saint-Germain came calling for Neymar with the promise of making him the most expensive player to have ever graced the sport.
Neymar accepted the offer, choosing to move to a new country and team to carve out his own legacy, away from Messi's shadow. Despite the great promise shown by the €222m move earlier on, it has been a failure so far for all parties involved as neither Barcelona nor PSG managed to leave a dent on the UCL knockout stages, except for the latter's current run in the competition.
Messi, who was evidently a huge fan of the Brazilian, was open about the fact that he hoped Neymar would return to the Nou Camp.
Speaking on his former teammate, the Barcelona captain expressed;
"I would've loved for Neymar to come back. I understand the people that are against it. It's normal for everything that has happened with Ney, for how he left and how he left us."
Messi continued,
"It's normal and logical that lots of people don't want him to come back, but thinking about it on a sporting level, Neymar is one of the best in the world for me and he would've increased the team's chances of achieving all the results that we want."
Neymar could be on the brink of reaching his first UCL final this year with PSG since their historic treble season in 2015. Messi and Barcelona, on the other hand, are in a state of turmoil after their 8-2 bashing at the hands of Bayern Munich.
Also read: 5 Worst signings made by Barcelona under Josep Maria Bartomeu
