Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to make a controversial signing
Most people believe Barcelona have plenty of offensive talent. Apparently Lionel Messi doesn’t agree. He wants his club to make the controversial signing of former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria this summer.
Don Balon reports that the diminutive Barcelona maestro wants to bring his countryman back to La Liga. Messi doesn’t believe that many attackers in Europe can play on the same level as MSN, but Di Maria is one of the few.
To say that signing Di Maria would be a controversial move for Barcelona is a massive understatement. The current PSG star played the best football of his career for the club’s arch rivals, Real Madrid. Making the move from one of those clubs to the other is something that can spark hard feelings all over Spain.
Despite the emotional difficulty, prying him away from PSG wouldn’t be all that easy either. The French giants are starting to really gain momentum under Unai Emery. Losing Di Maria this summer would be a bitter pill for the club to swallow. It’s not an impossible move from the Barcelona perspective, but the pacy Argentine certainly wouldn’t come cheap.
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Still, the idea of Di Maria partnering up with the current Barcelona attack is quite interesting. He has the talent and tactical flexibility to play anywhere along the club’s front three. It’s also possible that he could play one of the wide midfield spots against many opponents. When you have an opportunity to acquire a player of Di Maria’s quality, you make the purchase first, and you figure the logistics out later.
The most intriguing possibility associated with buying Di Maria is that Barcelona’s new manager could tweak the formation. It’s not inconceivable that Luis Suarez could move to a more traditional striking role, and he could be supported by a trio of attacking midfielders. That would give Di Maria, Messi and Neymar all the opportunity to play with Suarez in the starting XI. That could be a nightmare scenario for La Liga defenses.
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A lot of things have to go right for Barcelona to acquire Angel Di Maria this summer, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Keeping Lionel Messi should be the club’s top priority in the offseason and bringing Di Maria to Camp Nou could help do just that.