Messi has given his blessing for Rafinha to leave Barcelona, with West Ham reportedly in pole position to land the star.
The report claims that West Ham have seen off interest from Italian giants Inter Milan to land the 25-year-old Brazilian, as the Hammers are willing to meet Barca’s asking price of £35million. Rafinha spent 2017-18 on loan at Inter.
The Hammers have been after a central midfielder for a while now, which saw David Moyes miss out on Jonjo Shelvey, Leander Dendoncker and Tom Cairney in the January transfer window.
But new boss Manuel Pellegrini is set to end the search for a midfielder by adding Rafinha to West Ham’s ranks, by luring the former Celta Vigo star to the London Stadium.
A two-time Brazil international, Rafinha is a product of Barca’s esteemed La Masia youth academy, and he went on to make 79 appearances for Barca – in which he scored 11 goals.
The pocket-sized maestro – who stands at just 5ft 8in – still has two years on his contract but with Messi giving his blessing, it now appears that there is nothing preventing a move to take Rafinha from the Nou Camp to east London.
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