Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has made it clear that Francisco Trincao is ‘not for sale’ after Leicester City made a shock bid for the Camp Nou youngster, while speaking to BeIN Sports.
With the Barca chief suggesting in the very same interview that Lionel Messi only has ‘three or four years’ left in the game before he swaps his studs for slippers, it is about time the Catalan Kings put a succession plan in place.
And it seems that Trincao, a £27 million January signing from Braga, has a colossal role to play in the post-Messi era.
“Trincao is not for sale,” Bartomeu insists. “Young players will be the stars in a few years.”
It is no coincidence that this bullish rebuttal comes just two days after Leicester made a remarkable offer to sign the Portugal u21 international on a two-year loan deal with an obligation to buy for £45 million (Guardian).
That would have made Trincao the most expensive signing in Leicester’s history – quite the statement given that the floating forward only has 33 senior league appearances under his belt.
“Trincao is an incredible player, with lots of character and remarkable quality,” Abel Ruiz, the Barcelona loanee who has shone alongside Trincao at Braga, tells PortuGoal.
“He’s a great dribbler, he can go past his man either side, on the right, on the left, and he’s got a very good shot. He’s a very complete player. I’d say he’s similar to Messi.”
Barca have been suffering from a nasty case of ‘Messi-dependencia’ ever since Neymar jumped ship for Paris Saint-Germain three years ago.
The symptoms became terminal last season, with a club lacking any sort of direction from top to bottom handing the La Liga crown over to bitter rivals Real Madrid.
And with their talismanic captain now 33, it remains to be seen how Trincao will deal with the crushing weight of expectation that comes with replacing the greatest footballer of all time.
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