International Football
CNN ON HOW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MESSI AND BARCELONA TURNED SOUR
BY MATIAS GREZ
Overnight, angry Barcelona fans descended on the Camp Nou to lay the blame at the feet of the man they hold responsible for Lionel Messi’s desire to leave.
“Bartomeu, resign!” they chanted over and over again. On Wednesday, club Technical Secretary Ramon Planes desperately tried to quell fans’ anger.
“We have said on many occasions that we think of Lionel Messi as an FC Barcelona player,” he said at the press conference for new signing Trincão.
“Barcelona has rebuilt itself on many occasions throughout its history and has always come back stronger. Our thinking is to have [Trincão] alongside the best player in the world.”
“There is no division in the club about Leo, anyone who understands football wants him here to return to win again — he’s a winner.”
Many fans have been angry with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu for some time, unhappy with a seemingly scattergun approach to planning and recruitment that has seen the team regress following the retirement of the club’s previous generation of stars, notably the 2011 all-conquering homegrown vintage of Xavi and Iniesta.
Messi’s consistently brilliant match-winning moments of magic have papered over the cracks that have been steadily widening at the Camp Nou and some fans are rightly concerned about what will happen to their club should the Argentine talisman get his wish and leave.
The humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals — the biggest European defeat in Barcelona’s history — was unsurprisingly the straw that broke the camel’s back, but Messi’s discontent at the club he made his debut for 16 years ago has been evident for some time.
Messi’s has long endured a strained relationship with Bartomeu and the Barcelona hierarchy, but this came to a head in February when sporting director and former teammate Eric Abidal accused the players of downing tools to get former manager Ernesto Valverde sacked.
In response, the Argentine responded by posting a series of furious messages on his Instagram account, forcing Bartomeu to call an emergency meeting between the pair.
After the Bayern defeat, Abidal left the club, while head coach Quique Setien was sacked and replaced by Ronald Koeman.
Messy ending?
Earlier this year when Barcelona’s players announced they would be taking a 70% pay cut to help the club through the coronavirus pandemic, Messi took another not-so-subtle swipe at the board for the way they had publicly handled negotiations.
Eventually, the off-field battles with his own club, coupled with the team’s failings on the pitch — this is Barcelona’s first trophy-less season since 2007-08 — seem to have become too much.
It has now been five years since Barcelona won the Champions League, an almost unthinkable barren stretch for a team boasting one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.
Messi has been at Barcelona since moving to the La Masia academy from Argentina at the age of 13, but it appears their relationship is destined for a messy ending.
According to multiple reports, the 33-year-old is utilizing a clause in his contract which allows him to leave the club for free this summer.
Reportedly the clause expired on June 10, but Messi believes he still has the right to activate it now due to the season being extended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Barcelona remains confident that will not be the case and any potential suitors will need to meet Messi’s €700 million ($824.8 million) release clause to secure his services — an amount no club in the world could afford due to Financial Fair Play regulations.
However, should Messi get his wish and leave, there are perhaps only two clubs in Europe that could realistically afford his reported $100 million per year salary: Manchester City and Paris-Saint Germain.
“We are not thinking about any contract clause,” Planes said. “The marriage between Messi and FC Barcelona has given much happiness to both parties … we are working internally to convince Messi to find the best solution for FC Barcelona and for Messi.
“Messi has not told us that he will not be showing up at training, but any communication will remain between the parties and we will not broadcast what is spoken out of respect.”
-CNN
French soccer icon Zinedine Zidane has agreed to take over his national team’s head coaching duties following this summer’s FIFA World Cup, ESPN reported Monday.
Zidane, 53, reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Federation Francaise de Football to replace Didier Deschamps, who has held the role since 2012.
Zidane, who managed La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid for two stints (2016-18, 2019-21), has long been expected to eventually become the skipper for France.
As a player, the dynamic midfielder won the 1998 Ballon d’Or and was a three-time FIFA World Player of the Year (1998, 2000 and 2003). He helped France win the World Cup in 1998 and finish second in 2006. He was infamously sent off during the final of the 2006 World Cup when he headbutted Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest.
-Reuters
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The ‘Finalissima’ match between Spain and Argentina that was scheduled to be held in Qatar has been cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East, while the South American side rejected multiple alternatives, UEFA said on Sunday.
The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran have affected countries throughout the Gulf, disrupting travel in some of the world’s busiest transit hubs and forcing several sporting events to be cancelled due to safety concerns.
The contest between European champions Spain and Copa America winners Argentina was scheduled for March 27 at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, where fans would have had the opportunity to watch Lionel Messi go head-to-head with Lamine Yamal.
UEFA said they held discussions with the organising authorities in Qatar and concluded that the match could not take place due to the “current political situation” in the region.
“It is a source of great disappointment to UEFA and the organisers that circumstances and timing have denied the teams of the chance to compete for this prestigious prize in Qatar,” UEFA said in a statement.
Qatar’s Local Organising Committee said airspace disruption and travel restrictions led to the cancellation of its Qatar Football Festival, where the host country, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Serbia were also set to play friendly games this month.
The Football Association of Serbia later announced they would play away in Spain on March 27 and host Saudi Arabia four days later.
OTHER ALTERNATIVES REJECTED BY ARGENTINA
The Finalissima’s cancellation was not just about Qatar’s security concerns, however, with UEFA saying they explored other feasible alternatives, but they proved to be ‘unacceptable’ to the Argentinian Football Association (AFA).
UEFA first offered to stage the match at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid with a 50:50 split of supporters in the stadium.
A second option was to stage the Finalissima over two legs — at the Bernabeu on March 27 and the second leg in Buenos Aires during an international window before the next Euros and Copa America in 2028.
However, the AFA rejected both options. UEFA said Argentina made a counter offer to play the game after the World Cup but Spain had no available dates.
“Ultimately, UEFA sought a commitment from Argentina that, if a neutral venue in Europe could be found, the game could go ahead on 27 March… or on the alternative date of 30 March. This proposal was also rejected,” UEFA added.
SPAIN WERE READY TO PLAY
The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said they had offered Argentina “all possible options” in collaboration with UEFA to ensure the match went ahead, adding that they had the organisational capacity to stage the clash on short notice.
“From the very outset, the Federation has expressed its absolute commitment to ensuring this match goes ahead, as it believes it brings prestige and international reputation at a crucial time in a World Cup year,” the RFEF said.
“Furthermore, it has worked tirelessly to achieve this. Spain was prepared to play, as has always been stated.”
The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada kicks off on June 11.
The 2022 edition of the Finalissima was held at Wembley Stadium in London where Argentina beat Italy 3-0.
-Reuters
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Soccer chiefs from Europe and South America will hold a final meeting before a Thursday deadline to decide whether and where this month’s “Finalissima” between Spain and Argentina will be played, with London emerging as the leading candidate after doubts over Doha, multiple sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The match between European champions Spain and Copa America holders Argentina had been scheduled for March 27 at Lusail Stadium in Doha.
However, it has become increasingly unlikely that Qatar will host the fixture after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.
The Spanish FA (RFEF) has been pushing for a swift resolution, mindful that the March international break is viewed as vital preparation ahead of the June-July World Cup in North America.
“I know that negotiations are underway,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told Spanish Public Radio (RNE) on Monday. “The first thing, as a society, is to stop the conflict, but once you are immersed in it and you don’t know how long it will last, the solution would be, as long as you can’t play there, to find another venue as soon as possible.
Wembley Stadium staged the previous edition in 2022, when Argentina beat Italy, but it is set to host England v Uruguay on March 27. London, however, has other stadiums capable of staging the showpiece, leaving the English capital as the most likely alternative should Doha be ruled out, sources confirmed.
ALTERNATIVE OPPONENTS CONSIDERED
While keen to face Argentina and high-profile players such as Lionel Messi, sources told Reuters that Spain had made clear their priority was not to waste the last window of international fixtures before the World Cup and they were already contemplating alternative opponents.
With Spain also due to face Egypt three days later, any change would require agreement between the RFEF and European soccer body UEFA, South American confederation CONMEBOL, global governing body FIFA and the Argentine FA (AFA).
The RFEF, AFA and UEFA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
A spokesperson for South American confederation CONMEBOL told Reuters that several meetings between the parties had taken place in recent days but did not confirm Thursday’s deadline or London as the preferred venue.
Madrid was initially proposed by the RFEF but rejected by the AFA, who preferred a neutral venue rather than giving Spain home advantage.
Morocco offered to stage the game, but the RFEF was unwilling to back their Mediterranean neighbours amid tensions behind the scenes over the 2030 World Cup, which Spain, Morocco and Portugal will co-host. Both Spain and Morocco are campaigning to stage the final.
Miami was also considered, with Messi based there at Inter Miami, but Hard Rock Stadium is hosting the Miami Open tennis tournament at the same time.
-Reuters
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