LaLiga rumour mill: Real Madrid finally agree to sell major star and Umtiti's future remains unclear

“The Lord of Miracles” is just another title to add around Lionel Messi’s neck. At this point he’s almost got as many monikers as Daenerys Targaryen. When people talk about price tags in football there isn’t a sum imaginable where it makes sense for Barcelona to sell him. Messi is, for all intents and purposes, priceless.

This weekend must have left many Barcelona fans stuck between two emotions. On one hand, their team came back from being 2-0 to snatch an unlikely point away at Sevilla. It was a match in which they were largely second best, no one was particularly on form. It was bound to happen eventually and with Barcelona’s lead at the top being so great, they could afford to slip up.

Yet Barcelona didn’t lose and that was thanks to one man: Lionel Messi. Now why is there reason to worry when we’re talking about a thrilling comeback? It’s perhaps how poorly the team was performing prior to the little Argentine’s introduction. Messi didn’t even start because of a niggling injury but was desperately needed to turn the match around. The end result is positive, without a doubt, but it once again exposes how dependent they are on Messi if they’re to win the key matches.

Umtiti’s admits there are teams in for him

Away from the Messi adulation, there’s more concerning words coming from Samuel Umtiti. Well, to a certain extent anyway. “It’s true there is interest from other clubs.” I don’t suppose this comes as a shock to anyone. The Frenchman is, Sevilla aside, the rock Barcelona’s defence is built around. If teams weren’t interested there would be cause for greater outrage.

“The whole world knows my (buyout) clause isn’t very high,” is what Umtiti said to Canal+ France. The defender, for the most part, sees his future at Barcelona despite admitting talks are yet to take place over a new contract. “I have many objectives I want to complete at Barcelona so nothing changes.” Either way it feels Umtiti will be getting a pay rise in the summer.

As for incomings, Umtiti did mention Antoine Griezmann in the same interview. He admitted the two had talked but only about Griezmann’s perception of the club. He later jokingly added that if Griezmann did join, Barcelona would need to play with six strikers. Umtiti has a point to be fair.

Atletico want to replace Griezmann with Valencia star?

Over at Cadena SER they were reporting over the weekend that Atletico Madrid know who they want to replace Griezmann with: Rodrigo Moreno. The Valencia forward’s style is similar to that of Griezmann and could link up well with Diego Costa in attack. However despite the rumoured interest from Atleti, it doesn’t appear Rodrigo is looking for a move away.

“I haven’t heard of interest from any team. I’m very happy here. I hope I can stay at Valencia for a long time.” The Spanish international, who is fighting for a place in Julien Lopetegui’s World Cup squad, continues to focus on the objectives at hand with Valencia. And if Griezmann does leave Atletico, might Valencia fancy their chances at becoming Spain’s no.3 side again?

Buffon ready to face ‘the best team in the world’

As for Real Madrid, attention switches to their match against Juventus tomorrow evening. MARCA has an exclusive interview with Gianluigi Buffon who talks about that fateful night in Cardiff as well as whether or not he believes Juventus can progress.

Buffon says Real Madrid are the best team in the world and are rightly favourites. However he’s confident his team can cause an upset as these matches are usually tight affairs. “The knockout round matches are 50-50. We need to be ambitious. There’s history and the present, but Juventus are also a big team which knows how to win titles.”

Later on Buffon calls Cristiano Ronaldo an “assassin” who’s clinical nature in front of goal only compares to one man: David Trezeguet. “In these last few years he’s showing his intelligence. He’s changed his position, uses less energy than before but is really lethal.”

Isco or Bale? Plus some good news on Nacho’s injury

Speaking of Cardiff, will Zinedine Zidane pick the same XI which won Real Madrid’s 12th European Cup? This would mean Isco starting ahead of Gareth Bale. The Welshman scored a brace at the weekend against Las Palmas but is likely to make do with a place on the bench tomorrow. This means Isco, who was the star of the show for Spain, will get another chance to prove his worth.

There’s also good news on Nacho Fernandez’s injury. He couldn’t finish the match against Las Palmas and was seen visibly upset on the bench. This sparked fears he could be out for an extended period of time, perhaps even putting his World Cup dreams in doubt. According to MARCA though the injury isn’t serious and he could return in as little as two weeks.

James set to join Bayern for €42m

No doubt there will be plenty of movement at Real Madrid this summer but it appears their budget is set to rise with another key sale. James Rodriguez will sign for Bayern Munich after the German club agreed to pay his €42m asking price. The Colombian is happy to make the move permanent and has already begun learning German to help the adaptation to his new surroundings.

The original deal taking James to Bayern was for a two-year loan with an option to make it permanent. After less than 12 months in Germany, Bayern are sufficiently impressed and are looking at ways to bring the deal forward. With James out of the door it adds a decent chunk of money to an already sizeable transfer budget.

Sandro and Mesa can’t even make Sevilla’s match day squad

When Sevilla brought back Roque Mesa and Sandro Ramirez to LaLiga, both on loan, neutrals rejoiced. It isn’t always easy to settle in England and both were star performers in Spain before heading to Blighty. However the return home isn’t working out as intended and both failed to make Vincenzo Montella’s squad for the match against Barcelona.

Oscar Arias, the man who secured the deals for both players, defended the decision to bring the players in. “Hard work goes alongside what the coach wants. He’s the one who chooses the players who will work best for him. What we can’t do is question the ability of them.”