Lionel Messi has called Inter striker Lautaro Martinez and “wants him by his side soon”, claims Racing’s president of youth football Adrian Ruben Fernandez, with a move to Barcelona considered to be “almost there”.
A lucrative contract offer has been readied at Camp Nou, with Barca now working on an agreement with their European rivals in Milan.
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Fernandez, who helped put Lautaro on a path to stardom when spotting his potential in South America, believes a big-money deal is now a matter of time – with Messi having made it clear he wants a fellow countryman to become the “ideal heir” to current No.