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Messi 'clearly unhappy' with Barça
Ronald Koeman spoke to Dutch television about his first weeks at the head of FC Barcelona and notably his exchanges with Lionel Messi. Arriving at the head of FC Barcelona just days after the humiliation suffered against Bayern Munich (8-2) in the Round of 16 of the…
By Rédaction
2 min read
Arriving at the head of FC Barcelona just days after the humiliation suffered against Bayern Munich (8-2) in the Round of 16 of the Champions League, Ronald Koeman had quite the baptism by fire. This was due to the discontent of Lionel Messi, dismayed by the situation at the Catalan club and determined to leave the Blaugrana.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner had not hidden his intentions when the Dutch coach came to meet with him, shortly after being appointed to the Barcelona bench. "The first thing I did when I signed here (for Barça) was to meet Leo immediately at his home. I spoke to him about his future. He was very clear about his unhappiness with the club," the former midfielder said on the NOS channel.
These are the club's choices
And Lionel Messi's discontent obviously did not diminish with the treatment of Luis Suarez, pushed toward the exit despite his track record with the Blaugranas
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"If you have someone in the dressing room with whom you, your wife and your children also spend time outside of football, then this reaction is logical," said the 1988 European champion nonetheless, adding: "I also told Messi: 'I understand that you are disappointed and I think it is really a shame that he is leaving, but these are the club's choices.'"
Ronald Koeman also spoke about the Uruguayan's departure, praising his mindset and ensuring that the decision to let the former Red leave was not his doing. "It had become difficult for him to play. And I let him know that honestly. He found that difficult, but I never had any problems with him. He just trained and trained well, he assured. Everything is fine with him, but the club thought we needed to rejuvenate the team and you can see that now in the squad. Ansu Fati is playing, he is 17 years old. We have Pedri, 17 years old, who has his chances. Ronald Araujo is here at 21 years old. Trincao appears a lot and is 20 years old. And we have Sergiño Dest, 19 years old. These are all players for the future."
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