Barcelona's failed pursuit of Lionel Messi prevented them from signing €60m-rated star - Reports

According to El Nacional, Barcelona's failed pursuit of Lionel Messi prevented them from securing Red Bull Leipzig star Dani Olmo. The Spaniard is a La Masia product but left as a 16-year-old to join Dinamo Zagreb.

Olmo was on Barca's shortlist of potential signings in the summer. The player was also keen on the move and turned down several renewal offers from RB Leipzig.

He was a key player for Leipzig in the recently concluded season, scoring five goals and providing 11 assists in 31 games across competitions. The 25-year-old, valued at €60 million, has made 123 appearances for the Bundesliga club, scoring 21 goals and providing 29 assists.

Olmo, though, decided against pursuing a move to the Blaugrana after their failed pursuit of Lionel Messi. The Argentine was heavily linked with a return to Barcelona as a free agent on the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.

The 35-year-old, though, announced that he will be joining MLS side Inter Miami as a free agent on the expiration of his PSG contract this month.

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Lionel Messi names former Barcelona teammates as players he felt most comfortable with

During his legendary career, Lionel Messi has played for top European clubs like Barcelona and PSG. Hence, he has shared the pitch with stalwarts of modern football like Xavi, Iniesta, Deco and Ronaldinho.

The 35-year-old was recently asked about the player he felt the most comfortable sharing the pitch with. Messi provided a host of names in his response (via Barca Blaugranes):

“I was lucky to play for a long time at Barcelona and play with many of the best players. Like Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto’o, Suarez, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets.

"I was lucky enough to play with the best players and enjoy the game with them. Speaking of which, I almost forgot about Neymar because there are so many people. There must be many players I forgot to mention. I have been lucky to play with the best players.”

Further quizzed about the player he was most comfortable passing to, Messi said:

“Like the last question, there are too many people. I’ve been lucky enough to play with the best players, with the best strikers. Like Neymar, Eto’o, Suarez, Ibrahimovic and Villa and many more.

"I’ve been comfortable playing with all of them, or almost all of them, because I’ve been lucky enough to play with the best of them playing together, playing with them is easy.”

While Lionel Messi was also productive for PSG, his stint in European football will be fondly remembered for the spell at Barcelona. He's widely regarded as the club's greatest player.