{"id":1157154,"date":"2020-08-17T17:35:47","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T16:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1157154"},"modified":"2020-08-18T09:24:51","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T08:24:51","slug":"lionel-messi-leave-barcelona-must-do","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/lionel-messi-leave-barcelona-must-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Four things Barcelona must do to stop Lionel Messi leaving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leo Messi wants to leave Barcelona, allegedly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rumours are circulating that the greatest player in the world has finally had enough of the club’s nonsense and wants a move elsewhere. Whether the rumours are true or not, the fact that they are even semi-believable speaks volumes.<\/p>\n

Barcelona will be desperate to keep their superstar, but how can they ensure he doesn’t up sticks? What is needed to convince Leo Messi to stay at Barcelona? We’ve had a look and come up with four things that must happen in order for Messi to continue calling the Camp Nou home.<\/p>\n

1. Regime change<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The rumoured appointment of Ronald Koeman as first-team coach is a promising start for Barcelona, as the board desperately react to the ritual humiliation of losing 8-2 to Bayern Munich<\/a>. Quique Seti\u00e9n is gone, and the Dutchman is a Blaugrana legend and has proven himself a very promising coach with the Netherlands, bringing the European powerhouse back into relevance on the world stage, playing beautiful football along the way.<\/p>\n

\"Bayern<\/a>

READ MORE: Mind-blowing stats you may have missed from Bayern Munich 8-2 Barcelona<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

But that won’t be enough to convince Messi to stay at Barcelona, because the coach himself was never the true problem. Neither Seti\u00e9n nor even Ernesto Valverde was ever the major issue, they were just coaches trying to do their best. The real problem was the board that hired both men and in Valverde’s case, kept him on well beyond the limits of his capacity.<\/p>\n

This Barcelona board have made just about every mistake imaginable, but just looking at their two most recent: they didn’t sack Valverde after the Anfield debacle, and they have allowed the club’s finances to deteriorate so much that the club has genuinely had to sell a handful of players to stay in the black.<\/p>\n

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"Structurally, the club needs changes of all kinds because nobody is essential."<\/p>\n

"If new blood has to come and change this dynamic, I am the first to offer to go."<\/p>\n

"What is reflected on the field can no longer be covered up."<\/p>\n

Gerard Piqu\u00e9 has had enough. pic.twitter.com\/4V6FySJDVk<\/a><\/p>\n

— Squawka (@Squawka) August 15, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n