Braida: Messi's good at Barcelona but nothing's impossible

Ariedo Braida, Barcelona's former sporting director, told La Gazzetta dello Sports that a potential Lionel Messi exit is not out of the questions. "He is good in Barcelona. He has always lived there with his family," he said. "It's very difficult to see him leave but in football nothing is impossible..."

Asked who might make a move for the Argentine if he were to leave, Braida said: "The team with the biggest turnover, like the English but I would also say it could be Italy. The most important teams, with Messi, could develop an enormous commerical and global interest. Milan need a player with a strong personality like Ibrahimovic. But Juve and Inter are teams that could bring him in. He is obviously a very expensive players and has a very high salary but with him, anything is possible."

On the row between Eric Abidal and Messi, the former sporting director told Radio Anch'io Sport: "Abidal is probably a good guy but a little inexperienced and he has paid for that inexperience. I would have spoken to Messi first, I would have listened to what was happening, if something was happening, I would try to mediate, because in football, mediation is very important."

"I can't see Barcelona without Messi," he said. "He is a totem pole you can not touch, he is loved there and there's reason for that. On Sunday, they won away from home with three wonderful  assists from him. Without him, Barcelona are a different team, a normal team like the rest, in Spain they could be Sevilla or Valencia."