What Lionel Messi Told Barcelona’s New Coach About His Nou Camp Future

Lionel Messi has reportedly admitted to FC Barcelona’s new head coach Ronald Koeman that he sees himself "more out of the club than in it".

Messi, whose current contract with Barcelona is due to expire in 2022, has not signed an extension yet. Following Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich that eliminated the Spanish side from the 2019-20 Champions League, rumors about Messi’s departure from Nou Camp began to surface.

The Barcelona board sacked manager Quique Setien and sporting director Eric Abidal after the Champions League exit. Soon after Koeman was named the new manager, Barcelona president in an interview had ensured that Messi was among the non-transferable players and will end his career at the club.

However, Spanish radio RAC1 has reported that Messi cut short his family holiday in Pyrenes recently to have a talk with Koeman about his future at Barcelona. The report has further revealed that the meeting took place at Messi’s residence, where Koeman explained Messi his plans for the team, while the skipper told the coach about his future intentions.

The RAC1 report has stated that 33-year-old forward does not see his future at Barcelona while admitting that he is aware of the difficulties he would face if he decided to leave the club since he is still under a contract. As of now, Barcelona are considering Messi is contracted with them for at least another season, but have refused to comment about their skipper’s meeting with Koeman, according to the same Spanish report.

After being officially announced as Barcelona’s head coach, Koeman gave an extensive press conference where he admitted that he would like Messi to stay beyond the summer of 2020.

"He's still got a contract and is still a Barcelona player. At this point, I need to speak to him because he is the captain. We need to work with him and speak with various players. We need to make some decisions but in Messi's case, I hope he stays with us. I don't know if I have to convince Messi [to stay], whether it's that or not. He is the best player in the world and the best player in the world you want in your team, you don't want him playing against you," said Koeman during the press conference.