Lionel Messi Reportedly Told Barcelona Board To Sign Frenkie De Jong's Former Teammate

Lionel Messi reportedly advised the Barcelona board to pursue one of Frenkie de Jong’s former teammates.

The addition of Danish winger Martin Braithwaite seemed to have worked out well for Barcelona. The 29-year-old’s impressive start with the Catalans saw him possibly stealing Antoine Griezmann’s role in the attacking department. However, European sources now claim that captain Messi still wants to insert another notable player into the squad.

According to a recent report from Don Balon (via Teamtalk.com), de Jong’s former teammate and Ajax star, Donny van de Beek, is now included in Barca’s transfer wish list.

The midfielder is expected to part ways with Ajax this summer, but only if a club could match his current value, which is around €40 million ($45.2 million). The European publication claimed that Messi wants to infuse Barcelona with van de Beek and de Jong's team-up as the captain thinks the pair can replicate their success at Ajax. The report further noted that Messi has already told the Barcelona board about it and urged them to pursue the 23-year-old.

Van de Beek’s original suitors are Real Madrid and Manchester United. However, it has been said that Real has decided to pull out of the race to sign the midfield star.

According to 90min, van de Beek and his agent have been recently informed by Real Madrid that the club will not be making any moves for players at the moment. Given the situation, the Red Devils are expected to take advantage as they are reportedly planning to match the Dutchman’s price.

The report also stated that if van de Beek would still want a move to the Bernabeu, he will have to wait as Los Blancos are not planning on signing anyone “for now.”

Despite the reported interest from Barcelona and United, Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar remains positive that none of their players would leave the club and there will be no haggles happening anytime soon.

“Last year, we made verbal agreements with Onana, [Nicolas] Tagliafico, Van de Beek to stay another season and then we look to help each other and find the next step in their careers. Nothing has changed. There won’t be a 50% discount. The clubs can forget about that,” van der Sar told Dutch outlet NOS.

De Jong and Matthijs de Ligt parted ways with Ajax last summer, leaving van de Beek as the most notable star in the team. He continued to shine in the club, and prior to the lockdown, van de Beek had already scored 10 goals with 11 assists in 37 appearances in all competitions.