Lionel Messi wants three players out of Barcelona

- Lionel Messi is reportedly urging the club’s eggheads to sell three highly-rated players this summer

-The Argentina international is eager for the La Liga outfit to bring in new additions

-The players have not shown that they can fit into Barcelona’s philosophy as well as team chemistry

Barcelona’s talisman Lionel Messi is reportedly urging the club’s eggheads to sell three highly-rated players this summer, even as he seeks the signing of Serie A top defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Camp Nou dwellers enjoyed double domestic success last campaign, but were bundled out of Europe’s top club competition, the Uefa Champions League by AS Roma in the quarterfinals.

According to a UK Daily Star report, citing sources at Spain’s Don Balon, the Argentina international is eager for the La Liga outfit to bring in new additions to the Camp Nou this summer, but must offload the trio of Andre Gomes, Paco Alcacer and Denis Suarez that are surplus to requirement.

However, the duo of Gomes and Alcacer were recent buys that cost the Catalan side about £50m to price away from Valencia last year.

Painfully, both players have not shown that they can fit into Barcelona’s philosophy as well as team chemistry despite the huge amount that was splashed on them.

Since arrival, 24-year-old Surarez is still struggling to adapt to life in Barcelona.

At the last count, he appeared in 18 La Liga fixtures mostly from the last season.

On the other hand, Senegalese import, Koulibaly was a shining light in the Serie A where he was listed among the best defenders in the Italian topflight.

Although, his club Napoli failed to beat Juventus to the No 1 spot, the highly-rated defender was on top of his game all season.

In the last couple of transfer seasons, the Senegal international has made over 160 appearances for Napoli, while scoring eight times.

Despite been linked with a move out of the Serie A couple of seasons ago, none of the transfers has seen the light of the day.

According to BBC Sport, the Gracenote's Euro Club Index ranking is produced from results over the past four seasons, with the most recent campaigns carrying the most weight of about two-thirds.