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Barcelona put on an encouraging display in their 1-1 draw against PSG in the UEFA Champions League, but it was not enough as Ronald Koeman's side were knocked out of the competition.
Barcelona can now turn their attention to La Liga. The recent resurgence in their form has catapulted them into second place in the league, six points off leaders Atletico Madrid. The Catalan giants will look to continue their great run of form, as they host bottom-side SD Huesca on Monday.
With all that in mind, here are the latest Barcelona news on 11th March, 2021.
Ronald Koeman confident that Lionel Messi will remain in Barcelona
Ronald Koeman believes that Barcelona have done enough to encourage Lionel Messi to stay on at the club past the current campaign.
Following Barcelona's exit from the UEFA Champions League, the Dutchman told Mundo Deportivo:
"We have good feelings. We’re eliminated and we’re sad about that, but we made it difficult for them. We played a great game in the first half. We deserved for it to be 2-1 at half-time, and at 2-1 anything’s possible. We risked, pressured, dominated and created enough opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage of them. We’re going in a different way. Yes, it’s sad that him and Cristiano [Ronaldo] didn’t make it [into the quarter-finals]."
He continued:
"But Messi must decide his own future, nobody can help him with this. He’s seen for a long time now that the team is going in the right direction. And with the changes we’ve made and the youngsters who are only going to improve, he can’t have doubts about the future of this team. Everyone can be proud, including our president. We’ve shown our face and from the first to the last second we saw a team that wanted to win this tie."
David Alaba's agent denies Barcelona transfer
David Alaba's agent Pini Zahavi has denied rumours that claim that the Austrian had made a verbal agreement to join Barcelona in the summer.
Alaba will be a free agent at the end of the season, having decided not to extend his deal with Bayern Munich. The defender has been linked with a move to the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea, but many media sources claimed that the Austrian verbally agreed to join Barcelona earlier this week.
Alaba's agent Pini Zahavi was quick to shut down any such rumours, saying (via Goal):
"That's not true."
Barcelona approach Sergio Aguero
Barcelona have reportedly made a formal offer to sign Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero. The Argentine is out of contract in the summer, and Barcelona are ready to bring him to the Nou Camp.
According to TyC Sports, Barcelona's new club president Joan Laporta believes that signing Aguero will be key in convincing Lionel Messi to extend his contract with the club.
Aguero has only started 4 times for Manchester City this season and is in the twilight of his career. He has been linked with a move to PSG, Inter Milan and the MLS as well.
