DBasia.news – It’s hard to imagine Lionel Messi defending a club other than Barcelona. But it is likely to happen in the near future.
Messi and Barcelona actually have a special relationship more than just players and clubs. There is a bond that connects the two.
As is well known, Messiah is indebted to Barcelona who saved his career at a young age. When he was 10 years old, Messi was threatened with realizing his dream of becoming a professional footballer due to a lack of growth hormone.
Newell’s Old Boys, which at that time was the place where Messi received his football education, was reluctant to pay for La Pulga’s treatment which was quite large. Other Argentine clubs such as River Plate are also not willing to pay for Messi’s treatment.
It was during this difficult time that Barcelona came to the rescue. The Blaugrana were willing to fully pay for Messi’s treatment until the player moved to Spain with his family in February 2001.
The Barcelona gambling finally paid off. Messi managed to recover and transformed into one of the best footballers in history.
Various prestigious titles have been presented by Messi since being promoted to the senior team in 2004. As time went on, he became an untouchable player at Barcelona.
The ups and downs of Barcelona’s performance did not make Messi’s loyalty diminish. He always thought about retiring at the Camp Nou even though the temptation of other giant clubs came over.
But the situation began to change since mid-2017. Barcelona’s decision to sell Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) made Messi very disappointed.
He questioned the club’s ambitions for selling one of its stars to rivals in Europe. As a result of this, negotiations for Messi’s contract extension were halted.
Luckily Barcelona was able to convince Messi to stay. In November 2017, he signed a new three-year contract until 2021.
Unfortunately Barcelona failed to find a suitable replacement for Neymar. Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann who were bought at a total price higher than the sales profit of the Brazilian star appeared below standard.
Since Neymar’s departure, Barcelona have had difficulty competing in the Champions League. They even fell victim to a comeback when they met AS Roma and Liverpool in two consecutive seasons.
The situation is getting worse in the 2019-2020 season. Barcelona’s unstable performance made Ernesto Valverde as the coach fired. QUique Setien was later appointed as his successor.
But Valverde’s dismissal created an internal conflict. Messi was angry with accusations that Eric Abidal, as the sporting director, had cornered a number of players because they were considered to have played a role in this decision.
Since then, Messi was involved in a cold war with Barcelona’s management. The negotiation process for the extension of his contract, which was left for another year, stalled.
Messi’s conflict with Barcelona’s management has become increasingly sharp during the corona virus pandemic. He was furious after allegedly rejecting the pay cut policy to save the club’s finances.
After that, Messi was again reportedly involved in a conflict with a number of people in Barcelona. Starting from Antoine Griezmann in training sessions to Quique Setien and his assistants, it is said that they have an unharmonious relationship with the superstar.
This internal conflict ultimately thwarted Barcelona’s efforts to defend the LaLiga title. They were unable to compete with their eternal rivals, Real Madrid.
Messi’s frustration peaked after Barcelona was crushed by Bayern Munich with a score of 2-8 in the Champions League quarter-finals. After this humiliating defeat, Messi began to carefully consider leaving a club that had a big role in his career.
The Barcelona president tried to quell these rumors by expressing his belief that Messi would last until his retirement. He then fired Quique Setien and Eric Abidal.
The arrival of Ronald Koeman as a new coach is expected to convince Messi to extend his contract. The two figures then held a one-on-one meeting on August 20.
Reporting from RAC1, Koeman said he still needed Messi’s power at the meeting. But the Dutch national coach also warned to treat him the same as other players.
These words actually made Messi’s determination to leave even more unanimous. He felt that his status as a star and captain was no longer appreciated by Koeman.
This was exacerbated by Koeman’s plan to sell a number of key players, including Luis Suarez, who is a partner of the same heart as Messi. it made him even more uncomfortable.
No wonder if then Messi submitted a transfer request to Barcelona. All of his contributions over the years are not appreciated anymore.
There is even an impression that Barcelona really intends to get rid of Messi. But club officials want the player to ask so that they are not hostile to the supporters.