Lionel Messi makes a threatening demand from Barcelona

Barcelona are looking like a sinking-ship since the last few months and it is high-time that the club gets its act together before it is too late.

Ernesto Valverde’s sacking was meant to bring Barcelona back to a better place, but as it turned out, there has not been a major change since Quique Setien took over. The Blaugrana did get crucial successes over Granada and Levante in the league, but unconvincingly so and lost to Valencia by a 2-0 margin in a lacklustre outing.

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Setien’s next bout is at the San Mames against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter finals and it’s fair to say that a much better performance would be needed if Messi and Co. are to ensure progress into the semi-final. That being said, the San Mames is already a ground in which Barca lost in La Liga a few months ago.

January was a rather barren month in terms of transfers for the Spanish giants as they were looking to get in a striker as a short-term replacement for Luis Suarez. Valencia’s Rodrigo Moreno was strongly linked with a switch to the Camp Nou, but there was nothing that materialized and Barca have very few consistent scorers in their roster now.

Diario GOL has claimed that Lionel Messi is furious with how careless his side has been over its business in the last few weeks and has threatened to leave if his requested signing of Neymar is not completed in the summer. Messi sees Neymar as an absolute priority for Barca to compete for the next few years and doesn’t want to see his final years get wasted.

Moreover, the Barcelona captain is also unhappy with Eric Abidal’s work as the club’s sporting director wherein he has signed more flops than effective players just by looking at their name. For a club of Barca’s calibre, the next few months and especially the summer are crucial to build a secure future by making shrewd signings.

What do you make of Neymar arriving at Barcelona in the summer given his form at Paris recently?