Messi wants Barcelona to sign €102 million Real Madrid target, Real Madrid launch stunning bid for Cristiano Ronaldo replacement and more: Transfer Roundup, 22 May 2019

Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's Daily Transfer Roundup. We are almost there. A summer of excitement awaits us. With teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United expected to undergo massive changes in the summer, we expect quite a lot of transfer records to be broken over the course of the next few months.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the top transfer news, rumours and updates that made headlines on 22 May 2019.

Maurizio Sarri insists he is happy at Chelsea

Maurizio Sarri (right) during Chelsea's Europa League semi-final matchup against Eintracht Frankfurt

The Chelsea manager knows all too well that the top brass of the club is home to the trigger-hungry. Chelsea have a shot at winning the Europa League next Wednesday when they take on Arsenal at the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan.

Speaking ahead of the Europa League final, the former Napoli manager addressed questions regarding his future and said that he is happy at Chelsea and that he wants to meet the club bosses after that in order to find out whether they're happy with him or not.

Sarri said,

"My future is Wednesday, I think. I need to think about the final at the moment. I have two years of my contract here, and so I have no contact with other clubs at the moment.

"After the final I want to know if they are happy with me or not, but I have two more years on my contract. I like very much the Premier League. It's the most important championship in the world, I think, it's very exciting to be here. But now it's time to think only about the final.

Sarri, however, did try to quieten the rumours by stating that the discussions with the club is nothing out of the ordinary. He said,

"Chelsea is one of the most important clubs in the Premier League, so I am very very happy, but we have to discuss about the situation. It's normal in every season at the end you talk with the club."

Manchester United make contact with Barcelona for Ivan Rakitic

In the wake of Ander Herrera's departure from Old Trafford, Manchester United are desperate to add some spine to their underperforming midfield and have now made contact with Barcelona over a potential deal for Croatian international Ivan Rakitic who is now 31-years-old.

The Cules have responded by quoting a price of £48 million for the central midfielder and should United match it, the deal will go through this summer without any other complications.

Manchester United's midfield desperately needs a facelift and with Paul Pogba's future continuing to remain uncertain, Solskjaer wants to find a stopgap solution. And Rakitic can certainly do more than be a temporary solution to the problem.

United's midfielders lack the creativity to break down resolute defences and they had struggled greatly as a result through the majority of the 2018-19 season.

Guillem Balague rubbishes Pep Guardiola-Juventus rumours

Pep Guardiola talks to Raheem Sterling after winning the FA Cup

All hell broke loose earlier today after Federico Gennarelli of Radio Sportiva claimed that Pep Guardiola has agreed to join Juventus as their manager on a 4 year deal. The Italian journalist tweeted,

“It was supposed to be the decisive day. It was: Pep #Guardiola will be the new coach of the #Juventus. 4-year contract. Deal done.

The Spanish media had also reported about Pep holding a meeting with Juventus Sporting Director Fabio Paratici in Milan. However, Spanish journalist Guillem Balague tweeted subsequently and rubbished all claims linking Pep with Juve. He tweeted,

“On Pep and Juve. He is staying at Manchester City. No idea where the stories come from, but no truth in them. In fact, it was published he was in Malpensa, when actually at that point he was on the bus in Manchester! By the way, no truth in a new contract being discussed either.”

Real Madrid have launched a €140 million bid for Sadio Mane

Real Madrid have been toothless in front of goal in the recently concluded, forgettable season for them. It coincided with the departure of a certain someone called Cristiano Ronaldo and boy have they missed him. The search for his replacement will continue this summer and Sadio Mane has been identified as one of the top candidates.

Los Blancos are desperate to replace Ronaldo's goals and they have launched a €140 million bid for the Senegalese international who is also Premier League's joint top scorer along with teammate Mohamed Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Florentino Perez and co. are hopeful that €140 million will be enough to convince Liverpool to sell Sadio Mane. They also have a backup plan in place. The report claims that Real Madrid are willing to include Marco Asensio in their next offer if the current one gets rejected.

Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to move for Leroy Sane as Griezmann alternative

Antoine Griezmann has caused the rumour mill to go into overdrive by announcing via social media that he will not be at Atletico Madrid beyond this summer. Barcelona are heavily linked with him and Valverde also conceded that the club is in talks with the Frenchman.

However, Lionel Messi does not want Barcelona to rest on their laurels and want to instead see what kind of a shot they got at signing Pep Guardiola's flying winger Leroy Sane. Real Madrid are also interested in signing the German international who has recently been forced to warm the bench more than he would have liked.

The emergence of Bernardo Silva has caused a real problem for Sane whose contract runs out in 2021. The report claims that the German has no intention of extending his contract and that Messi has asked for the attacking trident to be completed with a world-class player.

With his skillset and the temperament that he has shown at such a young age, Leroy Sane definitely fits the bill.