Barcelona News Roundup: Barca legend confirms he will retire at the club, Laporta confirms Messi offers and more- 6 February 2021

Barcelona have quite a few big decisions to make over the course of the next few months.

Barcelona are trying to fight their way back into a title-challenge but they might have kicked into gear a little too late. The Cules are plotting to make some big moves in the next transfer window and it will be exciting to see what the summer has in store for Ronald Koeman and co.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 6 February 2021.

Barcelona dressing room angry about PSG's Lionel Messi statements

Paris Saint-Germain have not been secretive about their interest in Lionel Messi. Mundo Deportivo claims that the Barcelona dressing room is miffed with their constant comments about Messi.

It all started with Neymar talking about his desire to reunite with Messi. Subsequently, PSG chief Leonardo also publicly admitted that they will be in the race for the Argentine. Very recently, Angel Di Maria talked about how he wants to play with Lionel Messi at club level before retiring.

The comments haven't gone down well with Barcelona players. They are angry and this was reflected in Ronald Koeman's response to Angel Di Maria's statement. Koeman said:

“It’s a lack of respect. It’s not respectful to speak so much about a player that is still a Barça player. They [PSG] talk about Leo too much. He plays for Barça and, in addition, we have a two-legged tie against them coming up.”

Joan Laporta says Barcelona have received offers for Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is tipped to leave Barcelona in the summer transfer window. Now Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has confirmed that he has already received lucrative offers ahead of the summer transfer window.

Laporta said in a recent campaign speech:

"It won't be easy because he's receiving offers from clubs that don't lack money, because they have either a tycoon or a state behind them."

He also revealed that he believes Lionel Messi is going to kick on at Barcelona.

"Messi is very comfortable here, I'm convinced. From what I know of him, he wants to stay. He loves Barcelona and I enjoy the honesty he has always spoken to me with."

Gerard Pique confirms he will retire at Barcelona

FC Barcelona v Gimnastic de Tarragona - Pre-Season Friendly

34-year-old Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique has had a stellar career at the Camp Nou. He has won 29 major trophies at Barcelona and those include three UEFA Champions League titles and eight La Liga titles.

Pique told Barcelona's official website:

“I will retire at Barca. I’ve always said that. I play football because I’m representing Barça. I don’t see myself on another team. I wouldn’t have the motivation, it would be a drama.”

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

Know More

Edited by Shambhu Ajith