Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says Lionel Messi will retire at the club despite a turbulent start to 2020 off the pitch, which has led to suggestions the Argentine could consider his Camp Nou future.
Messi clashed with sporting director Eric Abidal in February when his former teammate blamed the players for the sacking of coach Ernesto Valverde. Messi also was one of the players whose name was smeared by social media accounts linked to I3 ventures, a company that was working with Barca.
– ESPN La Liga fantasy: Sign up now!
– When does the transfer window reopen?
The forward then said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo that the Barca side in its current state is not good enough to compete for the Champions League. Those comments were followed by a 2-0 Clasico loss to Real Madrid last weekend.
All of that has contributed to renewed reports that Messi could leave the club this summer. Sources told ESPN that Manchester City are monitoring his situation, given the fact a contractual clause could allow him to leave for free at the end of the season — even though his deal runs until 2021.
“Messi is the best player in the world,” Bartomeu said at an event on Thursday, when asked to explain the player’s contract situation. “There’s no need to explain anything — I have done so many times in the past.
“Messi will continue at Barca and Messi will retire at Barca. I don’t have the belief that he’s feeling alone [at the club]. I know many people have said that, but I don’t think it’s the case.”
Bartomeu is experiencing one of the toughest spells of his presidency. Events off the field since the turn of the year, as well as Champions League failings on the pitch in recent seasons, have seen a section of supporters turn against him.
White handkerchiefs were waved in his direction in protest at each of the past two games at Camp Nou, and there have also been chants for him to resign.
“Barca have always been a democratic club and the members have been able to express themselves however they want,” he said, before admitting that performances under new coach Quique Setien need to improve.
“We’re in a transition phase with new generations coming through, with players from the B team and players we’ve signed from elsewhere,” Bartomeu added.
“It’s not easy to combine the in-house talent with those coming from elsewhere at different ages. … But I am not satisfied, even though we’re top of the league and going well in the Champions League.
“Results are OK but improvement is needed. And it will come. We always expect more and we’re ambitious about improving in the coming games.”
Barca’s next three games, at least, will be played behind closed doors as a preventative measure against the spread of the coronavirus. La Liga announced on Tuesday that all fixtures in Spain will be played without fans for the next two weeks, including Mallorca versus Barca this weekend and Barca versus Leganes on March 22.
It had already been confirmed that Barcelona’s Champions League last-16 second-leg match against Italian side Napoli next Wednesday would be played at an empty Camp Nou.