Koeman Hints At Truth About Messi's 'Future' After Celta Loss
Ronald Koeman is hoping Lionel Messi didnât just play his last home game with Barcelona.
Messi has been tremendously professional despite the controversies all throughout the season.
Barcelona will play its final game of the campaign against Eibar next week, and to this day, the Catalan club has yet to secure a new deal for the six-time Ballon dâOr winner.
Speaking to the media after his teamâs 2-1 loss to Celta Vigo, Koeman was quizzed to reveal if Messi had played his âlast gameâ at Camp Nou.
According to Koeman, nothing is concrete yet, but Messi has proven that he is still âthe best player in the world.â
Hence, the Barca boss didnât dismiss the possibility that the Argentine might have worn the Barcelona shirt for the last time but also pointed out that everything will depend on the forwardâs decision.
"I hope not because I think [against Celta] he's shown his effectiveness and that he's still the best in the world," Koeman told reporters, including ESPN when asked if Messi had played at Camp Nou for the final time.
âIt [would be] impossible to play without him [Messi],â he added. âBut it's Leo on his own and, to win more games and get more points, we need more players to score goals. [Heâs] scored 30 goals and won us a lot of points. But [his future] is a question for him. For me and for the club, we hope he stays. Because if there's no Leo, we have doubts about who will score the goals."
Lionel Messi's 33rd goal of the season was not enough against Granada Photo: AFP / LLUIS GENE
Heading into the Celta Vigo match, widespread rumors claim that Koeman is also facing the possibility of getting axed.
For Koeman, it is quite unfair to make conclusions about his management based on how Barcelonaâs recent games played out.
âLike I said, weâll talk at the end of the season. I want to continue, Iâm very happy [here],â the manager said at a pre-match media conference. âI think weâve improved and we still have a lot to improve. I donât think the journey is over yet. In my opinion yes there are a lot of positive things. To say everything is perfect and then two weeks later itâs horrible - I donât think thatâs right.â
Koeman also revealed that he has been feeling âmistreatedâ by the media for about âtwo weeksâ now.
âYes. a little bit the last two weeks,â the Dutchman bared. âIf you analyze the whole season you have to analyze the young players, that we won the cup, that we had 12-13 points less but we are still fighting for the league, thatâs what you need to analyzeâ
âIf you hear the media in the last few days, it looks like I did a really bad job and I donât agree,â he continued.
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman during a La Liga match against Sevilla in October 2020. Photo: Getty Images / David Ramos