What’s the story?
Jorge Sampaoli has been heavily linked with the Barcelona job with Messi and his father both wanting the Argentine manager to take over from Luis Enrique at the end of the season.
After Barcelona’s 4-0 capitulation at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, there is more unrest in the Barcelona dressing room and several players including Messi have reportedly lost faith in Enrique.
There have been calls for change and Sampaoli who is working miracles at Sevilla is rumoured to be the man to succeed the Spaniard next season. Now the manager himself has spoken about these links.
Also Read: Barcelona want Lionel Messi's 'favourite manager' to replace Luis Enrique
Speaking to the Sevilla website he said, “My mind is focused on continuing to work every day to consolidate an idea here, in the club that brought me to Europe. It is clear that this profession is about the present and the reality, and the reality now is to strive for this club. Tomorrow, you never know.”
In case you didn’t know...
Jorge Sampaoli has transformed Sevilla into a force to be reckoned with in Spain and in Europe. They currently sit third in the table, three points behind Real Madrid and two behind Barcelona.
Sampaoli is a disciple of Marcelo Bielsa and is popular for employing his famous pressing style of play. He led Chile to a Word Cup round of 16 finish in 2014 and helped them lift the Copa America in 2015.
The heart of the matter
Luis Enrique has been heavily criticised by the media and the fans for getting everything tactically wrong in the game against PSG. Barcelona had the majority of the possession but could hardly do anything with it.
They were torn to shreds by PSG’s ferocious counter attack on a night Lionel Messi had the worst game of his career. Busquets came out in the open and said they had got their tactics wrong which shows there is some sort of friction between players and managers.
Although Luis Suarez has defended Luis Enrique, with his contract running out in the summer he is most likely to leave in the summer. Sampaoli might have only been in Spain for 7 months but is already being tipped as the next manager at Barcelona.
It’s hard to rule it out either given his teasing comments and that fact that Lionel Messi admires him a lot.
What’s next?
As Sampaoli rightly mentioned his interview he is currently focused on Sevilla and all his energy will be put into trying to put up a good fight in the title race and also carry his team as far as possible in the UEFA Champions League.
Sportskeeda’s take
It is very likely Sampaoli could be the next manager at Barcelona given his connections with Leo Messi and his achievements in his managerial career so far. There will definitely be offers from the English Premier League as well but there is a high chance Barcelona will be his next destination.
