Following his exclusive global interview with Goal, the Argentine star will remain at Camp Nou this season despite having previously wanted to leave.
Lionel Messi has been dubbed the ‘King of Catalunya’ by La Liga expert Terry Gibson, who backs the Barcelona star to watch the rest of his high-level career with the Blaugrana.
Messi revealed in a world exclusive interview with objective on Friday that he would stay at the Camp Nou despite having previously told Barça that he wanted to leave the club this summer.
The Argentine superstar believed he would be free to leave this summer due to a clause in his contract, but the Spanish giants insist Messi should have informed them of his decision before June 10.
Messi, in turn, feels that the coronavirus pandemic meant that his final call could be delayed until the 2019-20 campaign is over, but Barça have told him that he must pay his buyout clause of 700 million euros (624 million euros). pounds / $ 829 million) or risk a court case if you really want to leave.
The 33-year-old has entered the last 12 months of his current contract with Barça, but Gibson, who previously worked as a Spanish scout for Manchester City and will be part of La Liga TV’s panel of experts in the UK and Ireland . This season, it remains unfortunate that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner remains with the club for several years.
“This is a player who has been at Barcelona since he was 13 years old. He has been in the first team for 16 seasons,” said Gibson. objective. “I presume for Messi that, despite being Argentine, Barcelona would be the place where he will settle when he retires.
“His children go to school in Barcelona, his wife has been with him for a long time and they have known each other for a long time.
“He is the ‘King of Catalonia’ and of Barcelona. He is ridiculous, look at his statistics. He is ridiculous, nobody has come close to him.
“I hope he stays and ends his main career here. Maybe he could make an Andrés Iniesta at the end of his career and play in another league.”
“I am partial despite not supporting Barcelona or Real Madrid, but it would have been good to see him finish his career the way he wanted, which is just playing for Barcelona.”
Meanwhile, Gibson’s television colleague and former Barcelona defender Andrea Orlandi believes Messi has a return to his homeland at stake before his playing career ends.
However, he does not anticipate joining another European club, although he was upset after Barça’s crushing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
That marked the end of Quique Setien’s time in charge of the club, with the hiring of Ronald Koeman to take his place and oversee what promises to be a great transition.
Ivan Rakitic has already left for Sevilla and Messi’s close friend Luis Suárez will follow the Croatian international to the gate, and Juventus have reached a three-year deal with the former Liverpool star.
Despite that, Orlandi believes Koeman is the right man for the job given his knowledge of the club from his playing days.
“It has been shocking news here in Barcelona about Messi’s situation,” Orlandi told Goal.
“I think sometimes it’s normal to have a reaction like this after an 8-2 loss. I felt sorry for some of the players during the match and you could see how Messi felt.
“But he loves the city, his children go to school there, his wife is happy and, yes, he may lose his friend Luis Suárez, but he is a Barcelona player.
“Koeman has been very direct with players like Suárez, telling them that they will not stay, but Messi is at the center of his project. I cannot imagine him leaving. His reaction is natural for both a human being and a footballer.
“I think he could try playing for Newell’s Old Boys in three or four years because it is his Rosario team and it is a romantic idea that he has had.”
On the appointment of Koeman, he added: “There is always talk of DNA in Barcelona, but what is it really?
“When you see Barcelona play, you see it. We didn’t see him much last season. I think sometimes you need a loss like that. [to Bayern] to change things.
“If they lost 2-1 or 3-1, the same problems would have been hidden. They probably would have gone in the same direction, so I think they needed to change drastically. That will help in the transition.
“They have fantastic players reaching the later stages of their careers and maybe the motivation is not the same. You have to change things in the dressing room to keep improving. I think Koeman is the right man to do it.”
“I think he may not be the best Barcelona coach, but I think he is the right man to tell players sometimes things they don’t want to hear.
“It’s a problem in Barcelona that sometimes in the last season the players felt very comfortable. They are fantastic players who could play and train as they wanted.
“It wasn’t enough in Europe despite winning La Liga titles. Sometimes a result like that can be beneficial. For Barcelona, it’s about hitting rock bottom and starting over.”
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