Barcelona Update: Ronald Koeman Insists He Doesn't Need Media To Address Lionel Messi's Situation

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman is not bothered of everything Lionel Messi has recently revealed to the media about his situation in the club.

Messi has been on a rollercoaster ride this season with Barcelona. After equaling Pele’s all-time club goal record of 643 goals on Saturday against Valencia, the Argentine admitted that he has carried the drama of his tumultuous summer with the club all the way to the start of the season.

However, Messi assures that everything is fine now and he’s focused on helping Barca reach the top once again.

"I dragged everything into the start of the season a bit," Messi told Spanish television channel La Sexta. "The truth is right now I'm feeling fine, but in the summer, I had a very bad time."

Reacting to his talisman’s revelation, Koeman still sees the dedication in Messi regardless of how the media presses him to open up about his current views.

“I don’t need to see a Messi interview to see how hungry and motivated he is,” Koeman told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s clash against Real Valladolid. “I see him with the team and his team-mates. It’s always tough for any player who has won as much as he has not to win every match.”

“I don’t know all he said in the interview, we’ll see, but what he said about being motivated, I see that everyday,” he added.

Koeman also admitted that Barcelona has been “inconsistent” because there are a lot of voids to be filled at the moment.

“Today, it’s a team where we need to change a lot of things,” the coach assessed. “Younger players are playing and that’s why we have been a little inconsistent. We are also missing some players. For the future, it looks good, but at Barcelona, you have to win and battle for titles and it’s a complicated situation.”

Aside from matching Pele’s goal milestone, Messi also won his seventh Pichichi trophy on Monday. The prestigious award is an honor he and his ultimate rival Cristiano Ronaldo regularly battled for during the Juventus star’s time at Real Madrid.

But despite copping another incredible recognition to his name, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner keeps his sights locked on bringing the La Liga title back to Barcelona.

"An eighth Pichichi? I don't know, I'm not really thinking about it,” the 33-year-old told Marca upon receiving the award. “It's not something that worries me. I would prefer to win LaLiga again, something which we didn't do last season, rather than winning the Pichichi, so we will fight for that.”