All the speculations surrounding Lionel Messi has been a much-elaborated, and discussed story all through the pandemic-struck summer transfer window, and most, if not all of it, stems from the Barcelona club hierarchy led by Josep Maria Bartomeu: and the way he runs the affairs at the football club.
A very unsettled Messi reportedly handed in a transfer request last month but did not intend to go to court in order to force an exit from the club, yet he continues to make his discontent evident with his recent comments on the board on Instagram.
Messi bid farewell to the club’s third highest goalscorer in history and his good friend Luis Suárez in a very heartfelt and thankful manner, but he did not squander the chance to take shots at the hierarchy as he’s been doing all summer so far.
Excerpts from the aforementioned post include Messi stating that Suárez’s departure from Barcelona should have been in a way that’d suit his stature at the club and not in this manner: the Argentine even said that nothing surprises him anymore at this point.
Messi’s vocal revolution against the well-criticised club hierarchy was further backed by former teammates like Cesc Fàbregas, Dani Alves and Neymar who seemed to share similar sentiments as well.
Fellow La Masia academy graduate Fàbregas applauded the intent, while Neymar sarcastically responded saying that it was “incredible how the board does things”.
Alves was more articulate with his opinion: he remarked that the game is about respect more than winning or losing, and the present situation at the club has been reality for a long time now.
It is evident as the scale of sentiment weighs heavier on Messi’s side, as the club’s clueless competence, or the lack of it, to build a world class squad surrounding him has proved futile: culminating in embarrassing exits from European knockout ties recently, the most recent of them being the 8-2 demolition against Bayern Munich.
The situation at one of the biggest clubs in the world remains as volatile as ever, as Messi gears up to play out the last year of his contract before he can leave on a free.
And with the presidential elections approaching in 2021, it might as well be the make-or-break point of Messi’s tenure in Catalonia for the future.
