Lionel Messi set to meet with newest Barcelona manager
The Argentine is considering a move away from Barcelona.
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman is set to have a meeting with Lionel Messi to lay out his plan for the club and convince him to stay.
According to COPE journalist Helena Condis Edo, Messi will take a break from his vacation to meet with Koeman in Barcelona before the weekend.
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During his press conference where he was presented as the club’s newest manager, Koeman made it a point to stress that he planned to talk with Messi as he considered him an important part of his plan going forward.
"“I don’t know if I have to convince Messi to stay or not,” he said at his presentation. “He still has a year on his deal. He’s the best player in the world and you always want him on your team, not the opposition.”Source: Diario Sport"
He made sure to reiterate that Messi has one year left on his deal and that he hopes he continued to be a Barça player for many years to come.
The meeting between the two will be an attempt to convince Messi that the sporting project is sound and possibly to agree to an extension.
The Barcelona star is fed up with the way the club is run.
The humiliating Champions League defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich may have been the last straw for Lionel Messi who has now been part of three embarrassing exits in a row.
After the loss to Liverpool, rumors circulated that he was planning to leave. However, in interviews prior to the start of the season, he said that he hoped to retire at Barcelona but that the club needed a sporting project that convinced him.
Given how this past season went, the sporting project left much to be desired.
What Koeman has going for him that perhaps neither of the previous two managers had is a plan. He spoke very well during his interview and more measured as opposed to Josep Maria Bartomeu the day before.
His stint with Netherlands and pulling them out of a rough patch also gives him credibility in trying to convince Messi that things are going to be different.
Lionel Messi has three offers on his table that will decide his future at Barcelona. dark. Next
Koeman’s first task is not going to be an easy one. Should he fail to convince Messi to stay, then his job in rebuilding the team is going to become that much harder. At 33, Messi is inching closer to retirement and he’d like to finish out his years on a team where he can conceivably win one more Champions League trophy.