Lionel Messi expressed in an interview with a local sports daily earlier in the week for Barcelona to get its house in order and demanded that the board settle settle their inner turmoil so that the club could regain the focus needed for a successful title run.
Known to let his feet do the talking, the iconic Barcelona megastar then wasted no time in backing up that hard talk with concrete action by netting four times for a resounding 5-0 win over Eibar on Saturday. This comprehensive victory that not only gave Barcelona the lead it has been waiting for in the Spanish league but also some timely relief to the club´s beleaguered executive board.
Club president Josep Bartomeu was seen to be at the receiving end of heckling before kick-off at Camp Nou by some of Barcelona´s fans for his suspect handling of a series of disputes and scandals that have embroiled the club in recent weeks.
Messi, unfortunately dragged into the club´s squabbles not by choice or intention, said earlier in the week that his being implicated left him no choice but to publicly respond to Eric Abidal after the club’s director of sport asserted that some of Barcelona´s players had not given their best efforts for former coach Ernesto Valverde and for exerting locker room influence in having him removed as manager.
To further exacerbate matters, another damaging controversy immediately reared its ugly head in the aftermath of Messi’s public calling out of Abidal when the club’s board was discovered by local media to have hired a company that used social media accounts to apparently discredit some of Barcelona’s players and potential rivals for the current board in the elections forthcoming. Messi was one of the prime targets included among those players ridiculed in social media posts, according to Spanish radio Cadena SER.
Certainly a poor performance against Eibar would have most likely turned up the heat on Bartomeu who is now facing calls from digruntled fans for his resignation.
Instead, Messi kept away the billowing storm clouds by making sure every Barcelona supporter had a reason to celebrate ahead of an important week involving the start of the Champions League knockout rounds and a “clásico” at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Messi didn’t face the media after the match but manager Quique Setién said that his team was trying its best to mute the discordant din and the uproar.
“We are not under more pressure, not at all. You are always aware of what is happening. The truth is that what we are interested in is preparing well for the games, going out there to play well, and working all week. We cannot control the media circus. The important thing is to block it out.”
“When you win 5-0 everything is much easier,” said. “It greatly affects morale and our tranquility.”
Barcelona will be gearing up on a three-game winning streak when it visits Napoli on Tuesday for the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 after which they will head to Real Madrid with a two-point lead in the La Liga.