Toni Kroos has dropped a cheeky swipe at Lionel Messi by suggesting that he doesn't have the "cojones" to leave Barcelona for Real Madrid.
The 33-year-old Barcelona superstar sent shockwaves throughout the football world last month after submitting a transfer request.
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Fast-forward to August and the Barcelona captain witnessed his side suffer a devastating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Madrid star Kroos has swiftly shut down the idea that Messi would do the unthinkable by leaving the Camp Nou for a move to Los Blancos.
However, the 30-year-old German midfielder didn't stop from taking a dig at the possibility of Messi staying in Spain after a Barca exit.
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"I do not think he will come to Real Madrid, if I have to rule it out categorically," Kroos said on the Einfach mal Luppen podcast with his brother Felix.
"To stay in Spain: you need cojones for that. I think hardly anyone in the football world can imagine Barcelona without Messi."
City have reportedly compiled a comprehensive deal to tempt Messi with a Premier League move and reunite him with former Barca boss Pep Guardiola.
However, Barca will not allow the six-time Ballon d'Or winner to leave without a club activating his extraordinary £623m release clause.
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Kroos added "that it could most likely be Pep and City" for Messi, but he also pointed out the benefit Madrid would gain from Barcelona losing their superstar captain.
"If one of those players no longer plays in the rival team, one can imagine that we do not consider it as something necessarily bad," the Germany international said.
"Messi away from Barcelona means that Barcelona lacks a total weapon."
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