"Have you packed your luggage?"

Whenever they meet, Lionel Messi will joke with Lautaro Martinez, asking his Argentine teammates if they will join Barcelona.

That was early 2020, and Barcelona was looking for a replacement for Luis Suarez, who became the top target for next season.

Messi was an integral part of the operation, attracting Inter Milan to Camp No.

At some point, the deal seemed to have been completed - but then the COVID-19 pandemic followed and it fell suddenly.

Martinez has not moved from San Siro, and his team has scored at least 20 goals in five years and has broken a record in innings.

Now, he is Nerazzurri's all-time leading scorer in the Champions League, becoming the first player to score in five consecutive games in the Championship, and currently, he has only 1 goal in the club's No. 1 team (9 goals in 2002-03 in the 2002-03 season).

All of this is enough to cement Lautaro's position in the international legend, but the 27-year-old aims to head to Camp No on Wednesday to face Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

Not only did he want to win the only major trophy he still lacked, he also proved that he deserved more than he has received in his career so far.

“Sometimes, I do feel underrated, yes,” he admitted in the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera’s identity after finishing seventh place in the 2024 Ballon d'Or Award.

He is not alone.

Those who have known Martinez since Martinez used liniers and Racing with Argentine Football.

"If Lautaro does the same for Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur, he will be talked about more," former racing scout Diego Huerta told BBC Sport.

“So I don’t think it’s because of Lautaro – it’s because he plays for the International Front.

“They have reached the Champions League final in 2023 (versus Manchester City), and he is one of their outstanding players, but he hasn’t gotten the spotlight from others.

So what is missing? His strike partner, Marcus Thuram, suggested that Martinez should “smile a little.” If that's the problem, leading the title will certainly help.