Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte recently shot down rumors concerning FC Barcelona megastar Lionel Messi, noting it would be easier to move the Italian Cathedral than to bring the Blaugrana captain to the San Siro.

Inter's chief executive Giuseppe Marotta noted the move would be possible if this were “fantasy football,” and Conte backed up those claims with his own dose of reality:

“It's much easier to move the Duomo than to bring Messi to Inter,” Conti told Sky Italia. “To buy Messi or buy four €50m players? I think both solutions are impossible, right now I keep all the players who are giving me a lot of satisfaction and giving their all. Then at the end of the season we will evaluate.”

Conte has his feet well set on the ground, as Messi has been rumored to potentially leave FC Barcelona nearly every season of the last 10 years.

Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus after a successful run with Real Madrid spearheaded the potential channel for a Messi move to Serie A, though the financial implications of such move would be devastating to make such a haul in the transfer market.

Conte's Internazionale has no hope of winning the league title after Juventus clinched it recently, but the Nerazurri can still aspire to a runner-up finish by avoiding a loss to third-place Atalanta in their final league fixture this weekend.

Inter has scored the second-most goals in Serie A (79) and given up the least (36) during this pandemic-interrupted season. Adding Lionel Messi to that team would heavily bolster the chances of walking away with the title, but the club would have to go on wholesale to muster what's likely to be a massive transfer fee to net the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.