BARCELONA have been rocked by the prospect of Lionel Messi leaving the club this summer.
The Argentine was left furious by the 8-2 disgrace suffered at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Friday night.
Messi was left furious by Friday night’s defeatCredit: Getty Images – Getty
And with just one year left on his contract, Messi is said to be seriously considering leaving Camp Nou.
Journalist Marcelo Brechner, who broke Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, has even claimed that the 33-year-old is actively seeking a move away this summer.
But Spanish football expert Graham Hunter believes that at this stage of his career, any move would be motivated by success on the pitch, rather than by trying to earn more money.
He told Sky Sports: “If he is motivated and fit there is every reason to argue he could be exceptional for another three or four years, he just turned 33 in June.
“His contract no longer has that get-out-of-jail-free clause wherein every May the last two or three seasons he could have informed the club he wanted to leave for free.
“This board, for as long as they stay in power, and I think that will be until at least March, will not want to be tainted by being the ones that let Messi escape, as well as being tainted for being known as the board which failed to bring the best out of the final golden years of Messi.
He doesn’t want to leave for more money or just to be out of the mess that is going on around him, he wants to win the Champions League.
Graham Hunter
“Clubs who want him are suddenly going to be asked for 100million euros for a 33-year-old, and it’s possible there might be one or two willing to pay that, but he then has to look around and say if I’m disrupting my life and taking my family out of a place where I’ve always said I wanted to stay, will he be joining a winning franchise.
“He doesn’t want to leave for more money or just to be out of the mess that is going on around him, he wants to win the Champions League. It’s a very complicated equation to work out how he leaves, or to where he might go.
“Of course, he is waiting to see the developments and whether he believes that might make a difference to him staying and winning at Barcelona.”
Man City are the favourites to sign Messi this summer
Ronald Koeman is set to be the man tasked with convincing Messi that Barcelona can win Europe’s biggest prize next season, with the former Southampton and Everton manager to take charge following Quique Setien’s dismissal.
Gerard Pique was frank in his assessment of Friday night’s bleak result, admitting that no player’s position is safe after the humiliation.
Sporting director Eric Abidal could also face the chop, having been criticised by former team-mate Messi earlier this season.
Ronald Koeman is set to take over at FC BarcelonaCredit: Reuters
Quique Setién sacked: ESPN’s Sid Lowe discusses what went wrong for former Barcelona manager
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
