called forward elections that were not due for another year in a
further show of instability.
Club president Josep Bartomeu will stand as one of the candidates at
the end of the current season and former president Joan Laporta is
expected to stand against him.
Asked about Messi, Bartomeu said: 'Leo Messi has a contract here that
was recently renewed. We are calm about the situation.'
But the current Barcelona president would 'not speculate' on what the
player would decide if another club came in with a £196million offer.
Such a bid would meet Messi's buy-out clause and oblige the club to
sell if it was the player's will to leave the Nou Camp.
'I speak with Messi regularly,' Bartomeu insisted.
'We don't go for coffee together but I am in contact with him and from
what I see on the pitch he is happy at the club.
'He is our leader and as I have said before we want to build the team
around him.
'He is playing as well this season as he was last season.'
The comments about Messi's demeanour on the pitch do not reflect the
27-year-old's body language in recent matches, but Bartomeu insisted
his most important player is satisfied.
The Barca president continued by insisting any tension between Luis
Enrique and the player should remain in the dressing room.
And Bartomeu refused to comment on why Messi decided to follow Chelsea
on Instagramon Monday - the same day he failed to train - amid
suggestions of a fallout with the coach.
'I'm sure a lot of clubs would love to have Messi but he is our
player,' he added.
Bartomeu said he sacked Andoni Zubizerreta because confidence was lost
in the sporting director but backed Enrique, insisting the 44-year-old
was still the man for the job.
He denied the manager wanted to fine Messi for not training on Monday
and refuted claims he had given the coach two games to keep his job.
Enrique himself was previously forced to deny he had received an
ultimatumafter their 1-0 defeat against David Moyes's Real Sociedad
and an apparent fallout with Messi, who started on the substitutes'
bench.
Enrique refused to comment on rumours of a row with Messi but said: 'I
have not received any ultimatum, if I had it would have been the first
time in my short career, but I have not.
'I am not here to deny or confirm any of these stories. My job is to
coach the first team. We are still in all the competitions and I am
optimistic about the rest of the season.'
There have been accusations Enrique has lost the Barcelona dressing
room and that he has two games to save his job against Elche in the
Copa del Rey and Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
'I have the same relationship with him (Messi) as when I joined the
club, and it's the same as with all the players,' he continued.
'Coaches always depend on results but I do feel backed by the players
and by the board.
'I have nothing to be sorry for in terms of how I treat the players. I
am piloting the ship as I see fit. And I'm not going to comment on all
the stories that have come out in the last couple of days.'
Asked if he talks to Messi on a daily basis, he said: 'I talk to all
the players. He is the best player in the world but I have said that
so many times I don't need to repeat it.'
Luis Enrique is a club legend at Barcelona and a highly respected
young coach, but after falling out with Lionel Messi there is usually
only one direction for a manager at the Nou Camp. Plus there's his
history at Real Madrid.
No comments:
Post a Comment