Shirt sponsors Pirelli are prepared to help Inter Milan fund a move for Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Pirelli chief exec Marco Tronchetti said it could offer support in the quest to bring the Barcelona legend to the San Siro despite financial constraints, but insisted club president Steven Zhang had to make a real push for the move.

Tronchetti says that while Pirelli can't make "significant" investment with ongoing financial uncertainty posed by the coronavirus crisis, the firm could certainly aid the cause in going after Messi - but warned that club chief Zhang had to "make an effort".

"Honestly, at a time like this, we're unable to invest in sports more than we are, between Formula 1, the America's Cup and Inter," he told Gr Parlamento.

"We have to ask Steven Zhang to make an effort himself. We can help, but we can't do anything significant."