Lionel Messi and the Barcelona board agree on huge changes

Barcelona are under pressure to bring about big changes this summer.

Barcelona will begin La Liga with an away trip to Mallorca in a couple of weeks from now. The Blaugrana face a tough challenge over the remaining league fixtures as their squad depth will be tested to the limit and due to the lack of it, Real Madrid are being touted to become Spain’s champions even though their arch-rivals hold a lead at the top.

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Real Madrid are rebuilding incredibly well and for as much criticism as their La Fabrica academy has been subject of, they now boast one of the world’s best young squads whereas most Barca’s players are in the latter stages of their career. La Masia hasn’t been as good as it did before, signifying that changes need to be made by recruiting players from abroad.

Diario GOL has claimed that Messi, whose contract expires at the end of June 2021 has demanded that the board makes huge changes. Having said that, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Eric Abidal seem to have no choice and would have to adhere to the Argentinian forward’s demands to keep safety of their job, at least for the entirety of next season.

Firstly, the Barcelona marksman has asked for a striker’s signing and wants it to be prioritised over that of Neymar. Despite the lofty price tag, Lautaro Martinez remains to be his preferred choice but it’s difficult to see Inter Milan selling their lethal ace after Mauro Icardi also completed a permanent switch to Paris Saint-Germain over the weekend.

Nonetheless, Messi rightly believes that Luis Suarez’s burden need to be eased but perhaps he is putting unnecessary pressure on the board which is anyway struggling to meet its financial requirements. Antoine Griezmann has never been used in a central role consistently at the Camp Nou and must be played in his preferred position instead.

In order to raise money, the captain has urged the board to get rid of Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, as well as other deadweight like a few youngsters and Samuel Umtiti. Messi says that Bartomeu must use this money for signing a right-back and a midfielder, since the performances by Nelson Semedo and Arthur Melo have been subpar.

While Lionel Messi is certainly farsighted in his approach towards reinforcing the club, it needs to be mentioned that transfers for so many players from different clubs are easier said than done. Additionally, there is more likelihood of the Catalans shipping players out one behind the other but struggling to get in better ones as a result of expensive price tags.

Apart from signing Messi’s recommended players and probably after dropping their desperate and relentless pursuit of Neymar, Barca must go for a defensive midfielder, a position which has been overlooked more often than not, as well as a left-back who can act as deputy for Jordi Alba in the longer-run, given Junior Firpo’s failure.

Next. Barca target PL superstar to replace Nelson Semedo. dark

Which all players do you think the Camp Nou outfit must sign in the summer?

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