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Barcelona presidential candidates believe signing a certain Manchester City star will be key to making Lionel Messi stay.
Barcelona registered a thrilling comeback victory over Real Betis last night. They went behind in the first half and the game was tied at 2-2 with just three minutes of the 90 remaining when Francisco Trincao's first goal for the club sealed the win for the Catalans.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 8 February 2021.
Ronald Koeman defends squad rotation; praises Lionel Messi
Ronald Koeman rested several key players as Barcelona took on Real Betis. After going a goal down in the first half, Lionel Messi was brought on and he dragged the team out of the mud. Messi, Frenkie De Jong and Pedri came on as second-half substitutes.
On squad selection, Koeman said:
"Above all, I made the rotations because the players are exhausted. We’ve played 11 games this year, 10 of which have been away from home and late at night. We are into the Copa del Rey semi-finals and Sevilla are a good side so we have to protect players to ensure we don’t get more injuries."
Koeman also suggested that winning the Copa Del Rey is a priority. Barcelona play Sevilla in the Copa Del Rey semifinal this wednesday.
“It’s the quickest route to win something which is very important for us. But Barca must have a winning mentality in every game and in every competition.
He also showered praise on Lionel Messi for bailing his team out.
"I discussed resting Leo with him yesterday and we agreed we would bring him on if we needed him. He came on and changed the game, he brought life to our play.
"Barca are a much better side with Messi, he is so effective and he has spent so many years proving he is a vital player to this team," the Barca head coach concluded.
Samuel Umtiti rejected Liverpool move in January
Samuel Umtiti's Barcelona career has been plagued by injuries. According to Athletic (via the Daily Mail), Liverpool wanted to bring in Samuel Umtiti to help reinforce their defense in January but the Frenchman rejected the move.
Liverpool are severely shortstaffed at the back with their main centre-backs Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez sidelined with injury. Fabinho and Henderson have been playing in defense of late.
Umtiti was reluctant to leave the Camp Nou despite seeing very little game time due to his injury issues. Liverpool went on to sign Ben Davies from Preston North End and Ozan Kabal from Schalke 04 to bolster their defense.
Barcelona presidential candidates hope signing Sergio Aguero will make Lionel Messi stay
We are just a few months away from the summer transfer window and Lionel Messi's future remains unresolved. The Argentine is tipped to leave Barcelona in the summer as a free-agent but as per The Express, the presidential candidates are hopeful that roping in Sergio Aguero will persuade Messi to stay put.
Aguero is in the final months of his deal at Manchester City and the report claims that Pep Guardiola does not plan on extending his contract. The Cityzens are reportedly looking at bringing in Danny Ings from Southampton or Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan.
Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi share a good friendship. Lionel Messi is the godfather to the Manchester City striker's son. Barcelona presidential candidates hope that signing Aguero could make Messi happy.
