Emiliano Martinez: I will bring Messi to Aston Villa!

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 23 May 2023 10:38 BST
• 3 min read

Emiliano Martinez has vowed to bring international teammate Lionel Messi to Aston Villa this summer.

The two players were key members of the Argentina team who won the World Cup in Qatar in December.

And the Villa goalkeeper has now half-seriously suggested they can be reunited at club level next season.

MORE: Lionel Messi to return: His 10 greatest Barcelona moments

What did Martinez say about Messi?

“If they are whistling Messi, I would bring him here to Villa,” Martinez told ESPN in reference to the boos the attacker has received from PSG fans in recent weeks.

“‘Hey, man, we’ll drink mate, we will eat an asado every week. I will cut my salary, we’ll do our best.’”

A move to Aston Villa certainly seems highly unlikely for Messi, despite the presence of Martinez.

Messi’s contract at PSG expires at the end of the season and it is now widely accepted he will leave on a free transfer next month.

Barcelona are currently working on a deal to bring Messi back to Camp Nou on a Bosman transfer, two years after he left to join PSG.

But a transfer will be difficult because of Barcelona’s well-publicised financial crisis.

Messi is also a confirmed target for Al-Hilal and has been in negotiations over joining them on a free transfer for several weeks.

It has been reported that Al-Hilal have offered Messi a contract in the region of €400 million a year.

This would be a world record salary but the belief is that Messi will likely return to Barcelona, which is his favoured destination.

MORE: Messi, Tielemans, De Gea and the best players available on free transfers this summer