- GOBati
- Moderator
- Joined: 10 Mar 2006
- Posts: 5150
- Location: Roma, Italia Supports: AS Roma, Leeds
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 Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 12:00 pm |
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Napoli are preparing to break the bank to persuade Lionel Messi to join them and become the new Diego Maradona, according to an outlandish report in the Spanish press.
The Italian club are attempting to find the finances to make a mega-offer for the Argentinian superstar as they believe that he could bring back the club's glory days.
Amzaingly the claim has been made by Barcelona-biased El Mundo Deportivo at a time when speculation surrounding Ronaldinho's future is already affecting the club.
What started as an idea amongst a group of wealthy supporters has now snowballed and if the finances materialise then Barça could receive an offer at the end of the season.
Rich Neapolitans are wiling to chip in and it is stated that the city will open its arms to welcome Messi, in the same way that they did for Maradona in 1984.
El Mundo Deportivo believe that the player already knows about the interest from the club, presided over by Aurelio De Laurentis, but is not keen to leave Barça.
Maradona left Barcelona when Terry Venables said he could go and he went on to help the Serie A outfit win the league in 1986/87 and 1989/90, as well as to lift the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup and the Italian Super Cup.
Messi is seen by many as El Diego's heir at international level, but he does not want to follow in his hero's footsteps by moving to the Stadio Dan Paolo.
Having broken into the first team at Camp Nou in 2006, Messi was rewarded by the board with a first-team contract as he was moved up from the B side on a permanent basis.
The buy-out clause in his contract stands at €125m but, according to El Mundo Deportivo, that has not scared Napoli off, although they know that persuading Messi will be the key,
His loyalty to Barcelona is well-known as the club brought him over from Argentina and gave him the medicine he needed to grow, while honing his skills on the pitch.
As fascinating as impossible
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- BMJ
- Grass Roots
- Joined: 22 Nov 2006
- Posts: 473
- Location: Sydney, Australia
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:38 am |
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I just cant see it happening. It would be the football story of this century so far. lol |
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- putrum6
- Young Pro
- Joined: 25 Aug 2005
- Posts: 2929
- Location: Barcelona (Visca Catalunya)
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:58 am |
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If they pay €125m euros then no problem, he is a great player but with this money is possible to buy 5 or 6 great players. |
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- twmcat
- Hero
- Joined: 12 Apr 2005
- Posts: 22268
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| Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 2:30 am |
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He's probably bored at Barça and needs a change  |
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