Coach Pep Guardiola talked about the crisis of Argentine Lionel Messi with his team Barcelona, and the possibility of his departure from the Catalan club, which spent with him all his professional years.
In an interview with the YouTube channel “United United”, Guardiola said: “If Messi leaves Barcelona, Barcelona will definitely be affected, these players are very important.”
He added: “When Messi leaves Barcelona, the team will need time to rearrange the team. This is imperative. Players like him score 40 and 50 goals in the season.”
Guardiola worked as a coach for Messi between 2008 and 2012, in Barcelona, during which the Argentine star contributed to achieving the Champions League titles.
Guardiola’s comments come after news emerged about the desire of his team, Manchester City, to sign Messi, in case he decided to leave Barcelona, due to problems with the management of the team.
The Argentine star contract expires in the summer of 2021, but it contains an item that allows the player to move for free if he wants to, in the summer of 2020.
And in the event that Messi decides to leave Barcelona, Manchester City appears to be the most appropriate option, especially with Guardiola, in addition to the sports director Tecsiki Begistan, who worked with Messi in Barcelona.
Messi had sparked a major crisis in Barcelona, after attacking the club’s sports director and ex-teammate, Eric Abidal, due to the latter’s comments criticizing the team’s players.
Messi posted on his Instagram account, a photo of the article “Sport” that shows Abidal’s comments to the newspaper, in which he said that the relationship between former coach Ernesto Valverde and the players was bad, and that the players did not work hard for the team.
The Barcelona captain did not hesitate to respond immediately to Abidal, in a post that caused a stir on social media among Barcelona fans.
Spanish sources said that club president Jose Maria Bartomeo summoned Abidal for an emergency meeting, less than 24 hours after Messi’s comments.
With the administration’s decision to keep Abidal in office, the Barcelona legend may actually consider leaving, and moving to Manchester City.
