While Barcelona hope to persuade Lionel Messi to stay at the club with new coach Ronald Koeman having publicly said he intends to build the team around the Argentine, news has emerged that some members of the board have told ESPN that they wouldn’t be against selling him should the right circumstances prevail.
Messi’s doubts about his future at Barcelona in the aftermath of the hauling by Bayern Munich have generated an internal debate among the board as some directors have told ESPN that they would be prepared to listen to offers that would allow Koeman to reconstruct the team while allowing them to reduce their phenomenal wage bill.
Messi has long since grown frustrated with events on and off the pitch in recent seasons and has had a public fallig-out with former colleague and sporting director Eric Abidal earlier this year and also openly criticised the board for attempting to put pressure on the players when they were negotiating a wage cut due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On the pitch, Champions League exits against Roma and Liverpool have been followed by a first trophy-less season since 2007-08, with the humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich being the final straw to break the camel’s back to top it all off.
RAC 1 first revealed on Thursday that Messi has already met with Koeman and informed him that he sees himself ‘more out than in’ at Camp Nou after interrupting his family vacation in the Pyrenees to meet up with the new Nou Camp boss.
ESPN has confirmed that the erstwhile Argentina international forward conveyed his doubts about Barca and Bartomeu’s new sporting project to Koeman, which includes potential exits for Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, among others.
On Friday, Suarez posted an enigmatic message in his Instagram story that said: “Never forget that you are the architect of your own future.”
The majority of sources at the Catalan club consulted by ESPN were relaxed about the uncertainty surrounding Messi’s future because there’s still one year remaining on his contract. They also believe the coach will be able to change his mind, with further talks planned between the two.
However, at least one high-ranking source at the club is of the opinion that if Messi is not happy at Barcelona anymore then they should consider letting him go if a big offer arrives.
Understandably for the moment, no one has dared put a price on Messi’s head, and the club continue to point to his €700 million release clause — although he would be allowed to leave for free next summer if he doesn’t sign new terms before then.
Heavily embattled President Josep Maria Bartomeu remains determined against all odds to get Messi to stay and wants to tie him down to a new deal until 2023 before Bartomeu’s own mandate expires next year.
But negotiations over a two-year extension have completely stopped for now as Barca wait to see whether Messi’s anger after the Bayern loss will subside in the coming days or whether, this time, he has finally decided to serve notice to the club he first joined almost 20 years ago.