BREAKING: Lionel Messi has shocked the Barcelona board as he tells them not to sign Premier League star in January... See his reasons

​Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has been linked with a move to Barcelona in January, if he fails to reach an agreement for a new contract with the Gunners.

However, Lionel Messi doesn’t want his club to sign the Germany international.

The five time Ballon d’Or winner believes that the signing of Ozil would be bad business for the club, always according to Diario Gol.

The Blaugrana could land Ozil cheaper than other targets, with his deal set to expire next summer.

However, Messi wants Barca to turn their attention to younger talents, such as Philippe Coutinho.

The same report adds that club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and coach Ernesto Valverde have been made aware of Messi’s wishes.

“He considers that he is a very old player and that if Coutinho does not come now in January, it is better to put up with the put and go for him again in June,” says the publication.

They say Messi wants Barca to sign “a young man with a future and wanting to make a name in a big club, not a player who has already given everything he had to give in European football”.