Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has denied any interest in joining Premier League duo Chelsea and Manchester City, after slamming reports linking him with a move away from the Nou Camp.

Reports last week indicated the four-time world footballer of the year was on the verge of leaving the Catalan giants after falling out with manager Luis Enrique following a difficult start to the season.

Messi was understood to have used the interest from Chelsea and City as leverage after handing the Barcelona hierarchy an ultimatum over the future of Enrique, but the 27-year-old has quashed such claims.

"I have never demanded anything to stay because I don't have any intention of going," he said after Barca's 3-1 la Liga win over Atletico Madrid. "I heard people say that my dad had spoken to Chelsea, to City ... it's all lies.

"I heard all sorts of things said. I never come out and deny [stories] but this time I am. It has been said that I have pushed out lots of people ... Eto'o, Ibrahimovic, Bojan, Guardiola ... [and] I didn't ask them to sack our manager."

Regarding his supposed dispute with Enrique, Messi said: "It's not good for people to look for rivalry between me and Luis Enrique because there isn't any.

"It hurts because it comes from people who [supposedly] love Barcelona. It's people who want to hurt the club – and this time it did not come from Madrid, like other times, it has come from here.

"I have heard lots of things being said about me before and now. They make it look like I am the one who is in charge here when I am just another player. Don't throw s**t at us from outside because that will only do us harm."

Chelsea were linked with a £500m move for Messi last week as the speculation regarding the club's highest-ever goalscorer intensified. However financial fair play regulations, not least the Argentine's emotional connection to Barca, make the deal unlikely.

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