MESSI FANS VENT FURY
HEAT ON PRESIDENT
LIONEL MESSI is winning the hearts and minds of Barcelona fans in a rapidly escalating power struggle at the Nou Camp.
Messi, 33, has shocked the game by demanding to leave Barca, where he has spent the past 20 years and established himself as one of the greatest players of all time.
The Argentinian superstar is already being courted by the world’s biggest clubs, with Manchester City his preferred destination and Paris SaintGermain also in the hunt.
Messi is prepared to put his reputation on the line and his advisers are discussing potential transfers this summer, with Inter Milan also keen. This is as close as he has ever come to leaving.
In a poll conducted by Catalan radio station RAC1, two-thirds of fans said they should hold a presidential election and convince him to stay. They are demanding that current president Josep Maria Bartomeu quits for his part in Barcelona’s decline and Messi’s disillusionment.
“Bartomeu, resign,” chanted protesting fans outside the Nou Camp, who are blaming him for failing to rebuild the club after the vintage days of Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
It would appear that Barcelona is no longer big enough for both men – and if there is one player in the world who is allowed an ego it is Messi.
Barcelona are desperately trying to change Messi’s mind, hoping he will report for preseason training this weekend.
Messi has demanded he is allowed to leave for free this summer because of a clause in his contract but Barcelona are threatening legal action. Behind the row is Messi’s frustration that Barca are no longer serious players in the Champions League, thrashed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, have failed to win a trophy this season for the first time in 12 years and are in rapid decline.
Victor Font, one of the presidential candidates in the forthcoming elections, insists Messi will only stay if Bartomeu goes. He said: “If there is any option for Messi to stay, no matter how small, it goes through the resignation of Bartomeu.”
So do not be surprised if Messi ends up staying and proves who is the real boss of the Nou Camp.