'Lionel Messi Wanted me at Barcelona,' Confirms Tottenham's Cristian Romero

Tottenham Hotspur defender, Cristian Romero has made a huge admission, revealing that Argentina icon, Lionel Messi wanted Barcelona to sign his fellow countryman before his eventual departure to Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona shocked the footballing world when they announced they would not be offering Messi a new contract, which led the record six-time Ballon d'Or to join PSG on a free transfer. It was also reported that in the days leading to his departure, one of the reasons why the 34-year-old had not signed a deal with the Catalan giants was to do with the club failing to secure the services of Romero.

Romero for his part eventually ended up moving to Tottenham on a season-long loan spell with an option to make the deal permanent, has now confirmed that Messi wanted him at the Nou Camp.

"The fact that Messi would want me in his team, and that he wanted me to come to Barcelona is amazing. The team that PSG have built is crazy. I'm a bit sad about how Leo left Barcelona, I thought he would have stayed there forever. I wish him all the best, he's a great person and hopefully he can win everything alongside the other Argentinians there," he said as quoted by Marca.

The 23-year-old who was named as the best defender of the Serie A in 2020/21, is widely considered as one of the best young centre-backs in the world and it will be interesting to see whether he can continue his good form and adapt to the frantic pace of the Premier League.