Lionel Messi in the FC Barcelona jersey. Will he play for another club one day? Bild: AP
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Messi: “It was very difficult to make this decision, it was terrible”
FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi very rarely gives interviews. When he does, the football world hangs on his lips. On Sunday evening, the Spanish broadcaster La Sexta broadcast a long conversation with Messi. The 33-year-old Argentine speaks in this among other things about his wish to change in the summer, about his friends Neymar and Luis Suarez – and about his future.
Messi on his current state of mind
“Well the truth is, I’m fine today. It is true that I had a very hard time during the summer and before the summer because of the way the season ended. And then came what happened in the summer. It’s true that I dragged this with me into the beginning of the season – but today I feel good, I am full of ambition to seriously fight for everything that lies ahead. I know the club is going through difficult times, but I am full of ambition. “
Messi on his wish to move in the summer
«I have told the President many times that I am going, that I want to go, that he should help me, that I want to go. But he always said no. Burofax was the way to show that I mean business. I thought I had finished a cycle and that I needed a change. My head had to get out of it all because of the disorder that was in the club at the time and that would continue to exist. I knew it was going to be a year of transition, for young people – and I’ve always said that I want to keep fighting for the Champions League and the league. I felt that it was the moment of change. I wanted to go and I wanted to do well. The president started leaking things out to portray me as the bad guy.
It was very difficult to make that decision, it was terrible. It was very difficult to decide to leave the club of my life. I don’t think there is a better city than this. My family didn’t want to move. But I felt that in that moment it was best for me, for everyone, that I needed that. It shouldn’t have been so drastic and a way should have been found to get it right and to find the best for the club and for me. “
The relationship with ex-President Bartomeu is broken. Photo: EPA / FC BARCELONA
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Messi on his relationship with FC Barcelona
«Barcelona is my life. I’ve been here since I was 13. I grew up both in a club and in the city. I’ve lived in Barcelona longer than in Argentina. I learned everything here, I grew up here, the club shaped me as a player and as a person, gave me everything and I always gave everything for Barcelona. I have a love affair with Barça because that’s what I’ve been feeling ever since I came here. I love the city and the club. “
Messi on the departure of his friend Luis Suarez
“I thought it was crazy what they did to Luis. Because of the way things were done, because of the way he left, and because he switched for free and got paid for the remaining years of the contract. And because it was given to a team that is fighting for the same goals as us. Not just the fact that he was leaving was tough, but the way he went. “
They formed the legendary storm trio “MSN”: Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi (from left). Bild: AP
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Messi on claiming that he has a lot of power at the club
“This is something that has been said for a long time. The same is said about the national team: that I used coaches, that I used players, that my friends played. It bothers me that that is said. People consume and believe everything that appears in the newspaper or on TV, many believe that I put the players, I make the commitments and the coaches, and the truth is that it is very far from reality. »
Messi on the upcoming presidential elections at FC Barcelona
«I prefer not to position myself with any candidate. Because while you say I run the club … imagine if I say I want someone to be president … Hopefully the one who wins will do things well and get the club back where it belongs, but currently is not. The President will find himself in a very difficult situation, it will not be easy to turn the whole thing around. I haven’t spoken to any of the pre-candidates. First the elections have to take place, then someone has to win, and then you can start doing things. “
Messi on Neymar return
“It will be difficult to get quality players because there is no money. Getting Neymar is very complicated – how do you pay PSG? Neymar is very expensive. “
Messi on his future
“Nothing is clear by the end of the season. I will wait until the end of the season. Now I’m just concentrating on the team and on winning titles. After the season I make a decision.
I’ve always said that I would like to have the experience of living and playing in the US, getting to know life there. I don’t know whether that will happen or not. I don’t think about how the season will end because it wouldn’t be good for me to say what I’m going to do today – because I don’t even know.
I don’t know if I will go or not, but if I do, I want to go in the best way possible. Barcelona are much bigger than any player. And I would like to come back to live in the city and do some kind of role in the club because of how I feel about the club. I will live in Barcelona after my career, that’s what I want. After retiring, I’ll do something that has to do with football. I don’t see myself as a coach, but I would like to be a sports director. It’s a love story with the club and the city. Whatever comes out in the end doesn’t have to tarnish everything I’ve seen in my career. Everything will always be overcome and we will see the end. ” (R.A.M)
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