The future of Barcelona star, Lionel Messi has continued to be speculation as the club manager, Ronald Koeman criticised the interim president, Carlos Tusquets for comments made on the saga around the talisman.
Messi had tendered a transfer request in the summer- a move that was turned down by both the former President, Josep Bartomeu and the La Liga.
No club could activate the existing transfer clause which was up to 650m pounds. Messi now has 7 months on his current deal and he is free to speak with any club from next month.
Neymar, who had partnered with Messi as the Catalan club wants to play with him next season. This further fuel the speculation that Messi could join the Brazilian at PSG.
Messi has so far scored 641 goals in 743 appearances for Barcelona, winning a club-record 34 trophies.
This also led to Tusquetsto saying that the club should have sold Messi in the summer. According to Tusquets, selling the 33-year-old 6 times world footballer was “desirable” because of the money the Spanish giants could have made.
Koeman react to Barcelona interim’s President comment over Messi
Meanwhile, this didn’t go down well with Koeman during his press conference ahead of the club’s game at Cadiz.
👋 Hello, Cádiz ☀️ pic.twitter.com/ZbljxxT2Vr
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 5, 2020
“I don’t care what’s said outside the club. However, comments from inside the club don’t help us have the calmness we need to do our job.
“We can’t control what’s said outside, but from within it’s a different story,” said Koeman.
He further clear the air that it is Messi, who is capable of deciding his future himself.
“If there’s anyone who needs to decide about his future, it’s Leo himself,” added Koeman.
“It [selling Messi] might have been his [Tusquets’] personal opinion and I respect that, but Leo’s got a year left on his deal and he is the one who needs to decide.”
Messi seems to be dropping gradually after scoring 31 goals and 27 assists, from 44 appearances last season. This season Messi has scored four goals from nine games – two of the goals were from the penalty spot.
Meanwhile, most of the club’s presidential aspirants have made Messi their priority. The winner of the January 20 process will hope to convince Messi to sig a new deal and probably finish his career at the club.
