Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane insists he wants Lionel Messi to STAY at bitter rivals Barcelona as Argentine ‘looks to leave the club on a free transfer when his £500,000-a-week contract expires next summer’
- Lionel Messi is ready to leave Barcelona in 2021, according to reports in Spain
- Zinedine Zidane insists he wants the Argentine to stay put at the Nou Camp
- The Real Madrid manager says ‘the best’ players need to remain in LaLiga
- Barca have thrown away their lead in the title race amid problems off the pitch
Zinedine Zidane wants Lionel Messi to stay at Barcelona beyond the end of his current contract – despite Real Madrid’s fierce rivalry with the Catalan giants.
Speculation over Messi’s future has been rife over the last 24 hours after Spanish radio station Cadena SER claimed he is ready to leave the Nou Camp next summer.
But instead of relishing the prospect of Real’s title rivals being weakened, Zidane insists that he wants the Argentine to remain in LaLiga.
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane (right) insists he wants Lionel Messi to remain at Barcelona
Messi could leave Barcelona at the end of his £500,000 a week contract next summer
Asked about Messi’s future following his side’s 1-0 win over Getafe on Thursday night, the Frenchman said: ‘I don’t know what will happen but we hope not because he is in this league and we want the best in this league.’
Internal turmoil at Barca has left Messi questioning considering a move elsewhere when his £500,000-per-week contract expires at the end of next season.
There is growing discontent among the playing squad with manager Quique Setien, who has failed to win over the dressing room since replacing Ernesto Valverde earlier this season.
The club held a slim advantage over Madrid in the title race before the coronavirus lockdown, but are now four points behind Los Blancos with five games remaining.
There is also said to be growing tension between Messi and the club’s £108million signing Antoine Griezmann. Ever since the return of training, the pair have not been in the same group during small games.
The club’s hierarchy, specifically president Josep Maria Bartomeu, has also been at war with the players for some time, with tensions boiling over during Spain’s lockdown when the club looked to negotiate a wage cut with its players owing to the financial ramifications of the suspension of football in Spain.
The Barcelona star, 33, is considering his options amid turmoil within the Spanish club
Reports from Spain suggest the Barca captain does not see eye-to-eye with Quique Setien
Allegations emerged that the players were being selfish in refusing to take a pay cut and Messi responded by calling out the Barcelona board.
Messi wrote on his Instagram page: ‘It never ceases to amaze us that from within the club there were those who tried to put us under the magnifying glass, adding pressure for us to do what we were always going to do anyway.
‘In fact, if we waited a few days it was only because we were trying to find a formula to help the club and its workers in such difficult times.’
The goalscoring machine has also been linked with a return to his homeland when he does decide to call time on his career at the Nou Camp.
Cristian D’Amico, vice-president of Newell’s Old Boys, where Messi played before being signed by Barca at the age of 14, has revealed the 33-year-old could make a sensational return to his childhood club.
Messi (front row, third from right) signed for Newell’s Old Boys when he was just six years old
‘It’s a decision exclusively made by him and his family,’ he told TNT Sports. ‘We have to have the best possible context to help make a decision.
‘When Maradona came to Newell’s, nobody thought that he would come either. I hope to do something similar with Leo.’
D’Amico added: ‘Obviously, that’s not to be selling smoke. It’s a difficult topic.
‘What Newell’s fan would not dream to see the best player in the world with the jersey of their team on? Time might allow such things, you have to be calm.’
