Dhe anger of the injured Catalans discharged that night. Several fans of FC Barcelona moved to Camp Nou late Tuesday evening and loudly demanded the resignation of club president Josep Bartomeu. The announcement by Lionel Messi, the world footballer, the idol, to leave his club after 20 years caused horror in the coastal metropolis – and the culprit was quickly identified.
Messi’s relationship with Bartomeu has been disrupted for months. In the Corona crisis, there had been trouble between the stars and the club boss because of salary cuts. Messi had publicly criticized the club’s actions, feeling himself and his teammates as scapegoats. “Bad end of an era,” wrote the newspaper “El Mundo” on Wednesday. According to media reports, some directors of FC Barcelona want to resign soon, others propose a motion of no confidence in Bartomeu.
And Messi? The six-time world footballer, who has won so many titles with Barcelona and is a role model for millions, has not yet spoken out personally. FC Barcelona itself confirmed that he internally expressed his intention to leave with an urgent registered letter. One reason is said to be the new coach Ronald Koeman.
After taking office, the 57-year-old Dutchman is said to have questioned the Argentine superstar’s special status in an interview. “The privileges in the squad are over, everything has to be done for the team,” Koeman is said to have said according to a report on the Argentine online portal “Diario Olé”: “I will be inflexible, you have to think of the team.” it still, Koeman wanted to build a new team around Messi. The current team is considered full and partly overaged.
Meanwhile, Messi has received encouragement from former and active players. Former Barça and Real star Luis Figo tweeted: “Wow !! Another historic moment !!! ”. Barça legend Carles Puyol also wrote on Twitter: “Respect and admiration, Leo. All my support, my friend. ”Messi’s friend and teammate Luis Suárez responded on Twitter with clapping hands. According to the Catalan radio station RAC1, he is said to have been one of the first to receive a call from Koeman, in which the new coach is said to have told him not to plan with him anymore. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why the Argentine wanted to change.
According to media reports, Messi (33) wants to draw a clause in his contract through which he can unilaterally terminate at the end of each season. A gigantic dispute is looming, because there is a problem: From the club’s point of view, the deadline for activating the clause for the past season expired in June, “Mundo Deportivo” and other media write. Meanwhile, Messi is of the opinion that the deadline should be extended because the season has also been extended due to the Corona break.
Messi has been with the club for two decades. He has been part of the professional team at FC Barcelona since 2004 and is the longest-serving player. His contract runs through June 30 of next year. According to the media, the transfer clause stipulated in the contract is 700 million euros. Whether this can be paid for by the supposedly interested European top clubs such as Manchester City, Juventus Turin, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United or Inter Milan is more than doubtful – especially in times of pandemics.
According to ESPN, there should have been a phone call between city coach Pep Guardiola and Messi last week. Both know each other from their successful time with FC Barcelona and appreciate each other very much. According to the report, Manchester believed it was possible to fund Messi.
Barcelona experienced their first season without a title since the 2007/08 season. In Catalonia, there is talk of one of the worst crises in club history. The low point after the playful championship was the sensational 2: 8 bankruptcy against FC Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. “Leo Messi has just informed the club that he wants to leave the club, that he no longer feels comfortable in Camp Nou, which was his kindergarten from an early age – and that is worse than any 2: 8,” wrote the “Marca “.
.
