Florentino Perez: It's impossible that I had any influence on Messi's departure

Florentino Perez has hit back at suggestions he influenced Lionel Messi's departure from Barcelona, claiming such a reality to be impossible.

This comes after suggestions from Jaume Llopis, a former member of the Espai Barca Commission, that the Real Madrid president had a part to play in Messi leaving Barcelona.

"It's impossible that I had any influence on Messi's departure," Perez explained in a published statement.

"These suggestions are completely false.

"I haven't been friends with the CEO of Barcelona, Ferran Reverter, and I have met him only twice in my life, once four months ago and the other last Saturday, when the official communication about Messi had already taken place."

Perez's response comes after Llopis suggested that Perez had somehow influence Messi's Camp Nou exit due to his friendship with Reverter.

"The departure of Messi is a manoeuvre that favours Florentino," Llopis detailed to La Vanguardia.

"Imagine that now [Kylian] Mbappe ends up at Real Madrid, [Joan] Laporta was convinced by Ferran Reverter that it wasn't possible to sign with CVC, and Florentino Perez to join the Super League project.

"It also happens that Perez has been long-time friends with Reverter and between them they have convinced Laporta to radically change his opinion."