Messi’s a big fan of the Arsenal star.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has reportedly been in touch with club president Josep Bartomeu over a possible transfer raid on Arsenal in the near future.
According to Don Balon, the Argentine is keen for Barca to cool their interest in a challenging deal for Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho and go for Arsenal contract rebel Mesut Ozil instead.
READ MORE
Revealed: The incredibly petty reason Mesut Ozil is considering leaving Arsenal for transfer to Manchester United
PROOF: Arsenal & Tottenham are slickest transfer negotiators, Manchester United & City massively ripped off
Arsenal transfer news
The Germany international’s future at the Emirates Stadium is in serious doubt at the moment as he heads towards being a free agent at the end of the season.
Despite Ozil’s agent recently telling Sky Sports talks were ‘positive’ over a new contract with the Gunners, there has still been no news of him extending his stay.
The Daily Mirror recently reported Ozil was confident of sealing a move to Manchester United, but it seems Messi hopes he can be lured over to Barcelona.
The 29-year-old shone in La Liga during his time with Real Madrid, and looks ideally suited to the way the Catalan giants like to play their football.
And while Ozil hasn’t always shone during his time at Arsenal, he could find the slower pace of the game in Spain a great deal easier than the more competitive and physical Premier League.
The former Madrid man also looks a bargain who’d be hard to turn down, while Mundo Deportivo claim Coutinho would have an asking price of as much as £134m at Liverpool.
The Brazil international may be closer to playing at the peak of his powers than Ozil, but Don Balon claims Messi views the deal as a difficult one for Barca to achieve and is pushing for Bartomeu to consider Ozil instead.