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FC Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has praised Lionel Messi for his call for unity at the club. Koeman was talking to the media on Wednesday when he spoke about the players in his side.
The Dutchman revealed that he was happy with what Lionel Messi had said and claimed that it was a positive sign to see the Blaugrana captain himself come out and ask everyone to stick together. Koeman said:
"It's positive when the captain of the team calls for unity. It's very positive. Hopefully things will be calmer now than they were recently. We have to find the best team for him, the best position for him, so he can shine and perform at his best. You can tell that he lives for football and is always trying to win, even in the practice sessions. The best way to make Leo happy is to win matches." [H/T IndiaTV]
Lionel Messi was on the verge of leaving Barcelona this summer for free. The Argentine wasn't happy with things going on at the club and claimed that there was no project in place.
He had informed the Catalan Club of his decision to not return to training and was unwilling to continue at Barcelona.
Lionel Messi tried to use a clause in his contract to move away, but Barcelona insisted that it had expired.
La Liga supported the club's narrative and claimed that Messi was under contract at Camp Nou and was not free to leave on his own. Barcelona wanted Lionel Messi to activate his €700 million release clause if he was looking to go elsewhere.
Lionel Messi did not want to take the club to court and thus decided to return to training and stay for another season. Talking to SPORT recently about his summer transfer saga, he said:
"After so many disagreements, I would like to put an end to it all. We must unite as Barcelona fans and believe that the best is yet to come. I'll take responsibility for my mistakes. If they happened, it was with the intention of making Barcelona better and stronger."
Barcelona kicked off their 2020-21 La Liga campaign with a 4-0 win over Villarreal. They face Celta Vigo in the second match of the season on Thursday.
