A club president in Europe has jokingly stated that his club, who were recently beaten to a signing by FC Barcelona, are in talks with the Catalan club over the sale of superstar Lionel Messi.
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Roma recently lost their chance to sign Brazilian starlet Malcom, who made a surprising U-turn on a move to Italy and chose to join Barca instead at the last minute.
The Italian side were believed to be upset about the situation, with their director of football, Monchi, even saying that Roma refused to accept the Blaugrana's apology for hijacking the transfer.
The club's president, James Pallotta, was recently asked about how he thinks new Juventus signing Cristiano Ronaldo will fare in Serie A, and he joked that Roma are preparing a move for a superstar of their own.
"He is a fantastic player, but in Italy it will be more difficult for him," he said, according to Il Messaggero.
"Will we buy a top player? We are already talking to Barcelona about Messi."
Monchi then discussed the strength of the current team.
"On paper, we have the best team we have ever had under me. Patrik Schick and Justin Karsdorp are back, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Cengiz Under have been developing for a year," he added.
"Javier Pastore, Ivan Marcano, Bryan Cristante and (Justin) Kluivert are all great signings. The team has been built and organised to score more.
"We have a very good team and we will see what happens."
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Roma last won the Serie A title in the 2000/01 campaign, but have finished second on the table three times in the past five seasons.
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