What’s the story?
Lionel Messi is yet to sign a new contract and now latest reports from Diario Gol state that the Barcelona superstar wants a major overhaul to the squad in the summer. The same report also states that Messi wants to see the likes of Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne and Jeremy Mathieu leave Barcelona and coach Luis Enrique to be sacked in the summer.
The Catalan giants have not been at their best in the last few weeks with Luis Enrique coming under a lot of pressure. There have been various reports of Jorge Sampaoli being the favourite to replace Enrique and Messi wants to see the Argentine manager take over before committing his future to the club.
In case you didn’t know...
Barcelona suffered a calamitous 4-0 loss to PSG in the Champions League first leg with Messi having one of his worst games in the Blaugrana shirt. Coach Luis Enrique took much of the flak for the team’s performance with club stalwarts Busquets and Iniesta even openly questioning the strategies employed by the team.
Andre Gomes, on the other hand, has failed to live upto his potential so far and the Camp Nou faithful have resorted to booing him in the last few matches. The French duo of Lucas Digne and Jeremy Mathieu have also not established themselves as first team regulars and the trio could be on their way out in the summer transfer window.
Also read: Paris Saint-Germain director not ruling out signing Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi
The heart of the matter
The future of Lionel Messi has been subject to intense speculation with the Barcelona star yet to renew his contract. There have been talks of friction between him and Luis Enrique and the board might be forced to sack the Asturian if they want to keep the Argentine maestro happy.
Also, there have been plenty of reports doing the rounds that Messi is not happy with Andre Gomes getting starting opportunities ahead of La Masia graduate Rafinha. With Barcelona looking a shadow of their old selves, the Argentine maestro wants a major summer overhaul before committing his future to the club.
What’s next?
After rescuing Barcelona against Leganes in La Liga last weekend, Messi will be determined to put in some good performances and get Barcelona a good run of results. With the future of both Enrique and Messi not yet being resolved, it will be interesting to see how the Catalan giants handle this tricky situation.
Also read: Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza explains why Lionel Messi didn’t celebrate his goal against Leganes
Sportskeeda’s take
There is no player bigger than the club, but Lionel Messi is not just any player. With the Barcelona superstar wanting a squad overhaul, the board might just give into Messi’s demands to tie him down to a new contract.
