With each new season and after every failure that Barcelona has on the pitch, ensuing talks about Messi leaving the club start to rumble. But this time, things are looking rather fierce. After Barcelona’s loss and elimination in the Copa del Ray fixture against Athletic Bilbao, which surely disappointed many who used get our bonus code for bet365 to bet on this game, Eric Abidal posted some harsh comments towards Barca’s captain.
Barca’s sporting director and Messi’s former teammate, Eric Abidal, accused the Argentinian of creating a bad atmosphere in the locker room. This aura transferred to the field and in his opinion is the main reason for Barcelona’s spell of bad results this season. He also accused him of helping the former coach Ernesto Valverde being sacked.
This prompted an emergency meeting between Abidal and Messi that the club’s president, Josep Bartomeu, requested immediately.
Is Messi Really Likely to Leave?
The latest dispute prompted new talks of Messi leaving Barcelona for good. The Argentinian has been a spell of bright light for the downtime for many years now. He was able to always create something and pull them back from a bad situation. Keeping them in the mix until the very end.
Unfortunately, not even he was able to save the sinking ship on so many occasions. It resulted in Barcelona not being able to contend for a Champions League title in the past five years. It is a spell that most of the fans are not happy about.
With these latest criticisms on Messi’s account, he has started to reconsider his option and may actually leave this time. Him leaving is further supported by the fact that he has a clause in his contract which allows him to leave this summer for free, but he has to inform the club by May.
Where Would Messi Go?
There are not a lot of clubs in the world that would make Messi happy in terms of results and especially with his wages. The most obvious choice is Manchester City. The City team has been tied with talks about Messi’s transfer ever since the club was bought by their new rich owners.
City is the only club in the world that has enough finance to support Messi’s big fat contract. Also, there is the fact that Barca’s former coach Pep Guardiola is at City’s helm. He is also one of the coaches credited for making Messi what he is today.
Another choice would be Juventus. But most people say that the Old Lady is not able to support two stars at the same time in Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.
What does the Future Hold?
For now, it seems that Josep Bartomeu was able to reconcile the situation. After a two-hour-long meeting the two sides apparently came to an agreement. Not a lot of information was disclaimed publicly and Barca wants to keep everything in the family.
Bartomeu is the only one who came out with a comment saying that Messi is happy in Barcelona and that there is no chance for him leaving the club currently.
We’ll see for how long it will stick.
