Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho appears to have ruled out a move for Barcelona legend Lionel Messi for the time being, admitting that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner 'belongs' to the Catalans and the club to him.
Stories about Messi refusing to sign a new contract and running down his current deal to the point where he could be available as a free agent in the summer of 2018 have been circulating for the lastfew weeks.
United are just one of the sides said to be interested, even with talk of financial input from mutual sponsor Adidas, but Mourinho won't allow himself to believe that Messi will be on the move until it is actually happening.
"Lionel Messi, every season it is the same story. He's going to leave and he never leaves," Mourinho commented when quizzed on United's interest during this week's pre-match Europa League press conference.
The United boss even went slightly further, expressing hope that Messi never leaves Camp Nou.
"Honestly, I hope he never leaves because he belongs to Barcelona and Barcelona belongs to him. The natural thing and beautiful thing would be for him to stay and finish his career at Barcelona," Mourinho, who spent part of his early coaching career at Barça, explained.
"I think he will be staying at Barcelona. That is just a personal opinion."
What Mourinho did not offer any remark on was whether he would be interested further down the line if it becomes apparent that Messi really is going to walk away from Barcelona. Only time will tell as far as that is concerned.
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