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Real Madrid don't need Messi, says Casillas

Lionel Messi scored on his return to the Barcelona starting line-up against Elche © Getty Images

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Real Madrid would not need need to sign Lionel Messi if the four-time Ballon d'Or winner decided to leave Barcelona, according to Iker Casillas.

Messi's long-term future at Barcelona has been thrown into question this week by a reported row with coach Luis Enrique, amid ongoing institutional turmoil at the Nou Camp.

"I do not know," Casillas said. "That's the truth. Would I sign Messi for Real Madrid? No. At the moment, with the players we have, we are doing very well and achieving great things."

Lionel Messi reportedly rowed with coach Luis Enrique after Barcelona's defeat to David Moyes' Real Sociedad © Getty Images

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Madrid would be one of a handful of clubs who could afford Messi's €250 million (£196m) buyout-clause and his €20m-plus (£15m) net salary demands.

The club's president Florentino Perez has also in the past been open to the idea of snatching Barcelona's prize jewels, with Luis Figo famously making the move to the Bernabeu in 2000.

Messi himself appeared to feed speculation of a summer transfer by following Chelsea, and his former Barcelona team-mate Cesc Fabregas, on Instagram earlier this week, having also no-showed his club's traditional post-Christmas public training session.

"It annoys me when people say I am the middleman in a move for Messi to Chelsea," said Fabregas, who joined the Premier League side from Barcelona for £27 million last summer, however.

"I do not get involved in anything like that. I am a football player. Leo is happy at Barca and Barca are happy with him. All this is more simple and normal than what what has been made out of Leo following Chelsea on Instagram.

"Messi began to follow me out of respect, I guess, I also follow the news from other teams. I would doubt all that is said about Messi and Luis Enrique."

Having been left out of the starting line-up for the 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad, which reportedly prompted his row with Enrique, Messi scored on his return to the first XI in Thursday's 5-0 Copa del Rey win against Elche.

Messi, who captained the side in the absence of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, converted from the penalty spot, with Luis Suarez also scoring and Neymar grabbing a double at the Nou Camp.

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