Barcelona Transfer News: Lionel Messi PSG Enquiry Revealed by Josep Bartomeu

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has admitted he rejected an approach for Lionel Messi from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Blaugrana chief suggests PSG's decision to rebuff his approach for midfielder Marco Verratti resulted in any conversation over Messi being terminated. "PSG asked if Messi was for sale," Bartomeu told Cadena Ser (h/t Rhys Turrell of the Daily Star). "I said, 'And (Marco) Verratti?' They said no...so Messi is not either."

Turrell suggests Barca "have no interest in selling" their era-defining star, a man who scored 58 goals across La Liga, the Copa del Rey and Champions League during the side's treble-winning 2014-15 season. Per Turrell, Messi was linked with moves to Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea during the January transfer window, but he remains irreplaceable to Luis Enrique's exciting Barca side.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

PSG may dominate the summer transfer window now UEFA has eased its financial fair play regulations, per Peter Hanson of Goal.com. Despite last year's fine and squad cap for failing to stay within the governing body's limitations, PSG are now seemingly free to spend a huge amount on improving their squad.

This is great news for coach Laurent Blanc, but it will likely prove frustrating for many of Europe's elite, who could have important players plucked away. Alongside interest in Messi, the Ligue 1 champions appear determined to sign Angel Di Maria from United, as reported by Jason Burt of the Telegraph. The Argentinian escaped PSG's grasp last summer when UEFA deployed its sanctions.

Messi remains an elusive capture and is yet to suggest he would welcome a transfer away from the Camp Nou. "My intention is to stay at Barcelona forever," he said in 2013, reported Marca (h/t Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC). "I appreciate it, if it is true what is said, that there are people interested. It makes you proud that people say these things, but my life is in Barcelona."

Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi previously told L'Equipe (h/t Ian Holyman of ESPN FC) that "some limits" would stop Messi from ever heading to the French capital. "If we didn't have any limit, we'd bring in Messi," he said. UEFA's relaxing of its own guidelines is useful, but PSG—like every Champions League and Europa League club—must still effectively break even on an annual basis.

Messi's quality shows no sign of slowing down, emphasised by his terrific relationship with Neymar and Luis Suarez. He remains the centrepiece of Barcelona's rampant squad, a once-in-a-generation player whose value cannot be defined in monetary terms.

He is always going to be a star attraction—like Pele and Diego Maradona nowadays—and will leave Barca with a chasm to fill when he does move on.