Transcendental news for Catalan football fans. According to radio station RAC1, Leo Messi has informed new Barça coach Ronald Koeman that, with regard to his future at the Catalan club, he sees himself as "more out than in". This Thursday, the Barça captain and six-time Ballon d'Or winner has interrupted his holidays to meet with the new coach and the result, according to the local broadcaster, is that he is considering leaving the Camp Nou.
The same report adds that Messi is also aware of the difficulties he will have in leaving due to his contractual conditions, which bind him to the club until the summer of 2021. FC Barcelona, for now, has not given any response to the Argentinian star's conversations with the new coach.
Koeman wants him in the team
In his presentation as new coach yesterday, former Dutch national team manager Koeman made it very clear that he has no intention of doing without the Argentine crack. "I don't know if I have to convince him. He's the best player in the world, and so you want to have him on your team and not on the opponent's team. As a coach I would love to work with him and I will be very happy if he wants to stay. Moreover, he has a contract. So it's matter of talking to him and making decisions," he said.
Koeman spoke to Messi this Thursday / Europa Press
Team-mates, up for discussion
Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu's board wants Messi to be the mainstay of the new project, but the truth is that some of the team-mates - and "best mates" - of the striker, including Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba, do not share his status as being untouchable in the squad. Suárez, for example, has been linked with one of his former teams, Ajax of Amsterdam, and also with Inter Milan.
In order for the team to shine once again in Europe after the historic 2-8 humiliation against Bayern Munich, and also, to clean up the club's image before next March's presidential elections, Bartomeu has no choice but to give Koeman full powers to renew the team. Some heavyweights could be packing their bags by decision of the Dutch coach, but what no one was contemplating - not the president either - is that one of the first to leave might be Messi.