Spanish press reports revealed that Argentine Lionel Messi, the American star of Inter Miami, refused to sign a contract with the Spanish FC Barcelona player during the upcoming summer transfer period of 2024.
Messi moved to Inter Miami last summer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired, and he was joined by former Barca trio Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
The Spanish newspaper “Al Nacional” said that Messi opposed the joining of Polish Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona’s current top scorer, to the American club, despite the efforts of team owner David Beckham to complete the deal starting next season, according to what the Spanish newspaper “Al Nacional” reported.
The newspaper confirmed that Messi, thanks to his great influence within Inter Miami, will work to stop the negotiations led by the owners of Inter Miami to conclude a huge deal under which Lewandowski will move to the American team. This is due to the new, old tension between the Argentine and Polish stars, which dates back to the year 2021, when they competed until the decisive moments in order to win the Golden Ball for the best player in the world for that year.
The reasons for the dispute between Messi and Lewandowski go back to the year 2021, when the Argentine star won the Ballon d’Or, which angered Lewandowski, confirming his right to the award after winning a historic six with Bayern Munich at the time.
The dispute was renewed in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, when Lionel Messi refused to shake Lewandowski’s hand, and ignored him, even though they stood side by side as captains of two teams before the start of the match that took place in the first round of the World Cup, Argentina and Poland.