FC Barcelona’s Ex-Winger Downplays Lionel Messi’s Leadership: 'The Dressing Room Doesn't Have That Much Power'

FC Barcelona’s former winger Malcom debunked a settled perception of Lionel Messi as an authoritative figure at Camp Nou. Amidst reports of disputes and demands involving the Spanish club’s star captain, Malcom claimed Messi’s presence did not genuinely rub off on the team as he described a hushed dugout scene with the Argentine at the helm.

"The dressing room doesn't have that much power,” Malcom told Cadena SER, per The Sun, as he characterized Messi as a silent leader, rather than a controlling one.

"Leo doesn't act as president. He speaks only as the captain of the squad."

But at a time of crisis, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner recognized his influence has to step up. And that led to him speaking on behalf of his club, which currently deals with the appalling situation that is the Coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, Messi said he and his teammates will be taking a 70% pay cut whilst allocating additional funds to be given in aid of the team’s staff during the crisis, which saw Spain being hit by about 85,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as if posting, which include 7,340 deaths.

"The time has come to announce that, aside from the reduction of 70% of our salary during the state of emergency, we will also make contributions so that the club's employees can collect 100 percent of their salaries while this situation lasts,” the statement read.

"Our desire has always been to take a pay cut, because we understand perfectly that this is an exceptional situation."

But despite his revelation, Malcom stressed he remains a fan of the 32-year-old soccer legend, who he believes will play for eight more seasons.

"One of the bad things about the confinement is not being able to watch Messi,” Malcom said. "I think he'll play until he's 40.”

The 23-year-old Brazilian footballer had a short stint playing alongside Messi as he was dealt by Barcelona to Zenit St. Petersburg in 2019. He appeared in 24 matches in his lone season for Barca and scored four times before he was sent to the Russian football club in exchange for nearly $38,000,000 last summer.