Report Claims Lionel Messi Wants Barcelona Star to Stay & Not Join Liverpool

Lionel Messi has urged Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen to remain at the Nou Camp, despite interest shown by English club Liverpool. Barcelona paid £13m

Lionel Messi has urged Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen to remain at the Nou Camp, despite interest shown by English club Liverpool.

Barcelona paid £13m for Cillessen (via the Daily Star) in 2016 when they bought him from Ajax Amsterdam but the 29-year-old has only featured in one La Liga game, back in October 2016, since joining the Catalan club and has mostly covered for first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The Dutchman was however, a key figure for Barcelona in this year's Copa del Rey, which they won on Saturday evening by beating Sevilla 5-0 in the final.

David Ramos/GettyImages

Liverpool on the other hand could do with strengthening their goalkeeper options. Although Loris Karis has had a good run of form in recent times, question marks still raise about his and Simon Mignolet's charismatic abilities to be long-term solutions in-goal for Jurgen Klopp's side. Too many common errors have seen Liverpool concede a large number of unnecessary goals in the past two seasons.

Cillessen seems to also be on the radar of Napoli and Atletico Madrid but a move to Anfield could mean more game-time than at Barcelona with Liverpool all but securing their place in the Champions League for next season. 19 Appearances in total after two seasons might be a good enough reason for Cillessen to pack his bags and with Ter Stegen signing a five year contract extension last year, regular game-time could be few and far between.

Cillessen has made 39 appearances for the Dutch National side since making his debut in 2013 and was also the first-choice goalkeeper for them in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil where they finished third.