Gio wary of Messi problems

Barca's Giovanni Dos Santos intends to land a Spanish passport as soon as possible.

Barcelona's highly-coveted Mexican starlet Giovanni Dos Santos is keen to begin the process of landing a Spanish passport to avoid any of the problems currently blighting the progress of Lionel Messi.

Despite being just 16 years of age, Dos Santos is already purported to be a target for both Arsenal and Manchester United.

However, he recently insisted his priority is to stay and rise through the ranks at Barca and is already making plans to ease his passage to their first team.

Spanish clubs are only allowed three non-EU players in their squad and the ruling over 'assimilated' players has recently become more strict, a factor that has left Messi at the centre of a drawn-out eligibility dispute.

Dos Santos is still in South America following his superb showing in the World Under-17 Championship in Peru where he helped Mexico to lift the trophy.

However, he insisted that 'as soon as I arrive in Spain', he plans to begin the procedures necessary to land a Spanish passport and thus avoid any potential dispute about his ability to represent the Catalan giants.