Ronald Koeman hopes his new-look Barcelona convinces Lionel Messi to remain

Image Source : AP Lionel Messi
A pleasant chat with Kylian Mbappe. A fast hug with Mauricio Pochettino. A kiss on the brow from Ángel Di María.
The indicators have been all there at Parc des Princes for paranoid Barcelona followers who concern Lionel Messi will observe the trail of Neymar and bolt for Paris Saint-Germain as soon as the season ends.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman, nonetheless, is assured that he has achieved all he can to persuade Messi to proceed his profession with the Spanish membership, regardless of one other disappointing Champions League marketing campaign.
“Leo has to decide his future, nobody can help him do that, (but) I think that he has seen for some time now that this team is on the right track and has a future. I don’t think that he can use that as a reason not to stay,” Koeman mentioned after Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at PSG eradicated Barcelona from the competitors.
Koeman, who as an alternative of titles promised a rejuvenation of the crew when he took over final yr, has Barcelona taking part in effectively once more. The crew fought again to beat Sevilla within the Copa del Rey semifinals final week and has closed the hole on Spanish league chief Atlético Madrid to 6 factors.
Barcelona is unbeaten in 16 league video games — with 13 wins and three attracts — earlier than it hosts last-place Huesca on Monday. Atlético visits Getafe on Saturday.
For Messi, who scored a implausible purpose in Paris and had a penalty saved by Keylor Navas, the elimination will go down as but a one other painful exit from the match that he final received, for a fourth time, in 2015.
Since then, Barcelona has confronted a number of lopsided losses within the knockout rounds. The humiliating 8-2 debacle in opposition to Bayern Munich final season prompted Messi to say he wished to depart the membership he has been part of for twenty years. Since then, he has stored quiet about his plans, besides to say that he’ll determine when his contract expires on the finish of the season.

Swayed by his previous relationship with Messi, Joan Laporta was elected as president once more final weekend by membership members. Laporta claimed he was the most effective man to speak Messi into remaining on the Camp Nou.
But till Messi truly indicators a brand new deal, all eyes will likely be on doable suitors. And PSG is a number one candidate since it’s one in all a handful of golf equipment that might probably afford a participant who at present makes 138 million euros ($167 million) per season.
Pochettino, the PSG coach, mentioned his hug with Messi after Wednesday’s match was “just to say hello” to a participant who he coached in opposition to when he was at Espanyol. Di María, who pecked Messi on the pinnacle after the ultimate whistle, is a teammate on Argentina’s nationwide crew.
While Mbappe’s future can be unsure together with his contract set to run out, Neymar may very well be a lure for Messi. Neymar, whose contract can be up after the season, has repeatedly mentioned he would like to remake the partnership he shared with Messi at Barcelona.
But Koeman hopes he can supply Messi a crew on the up due to his daring strikes to remake a squad that had as soon as received all of it, solely to slowly lose its competitiveness in Europe. Out went Luis Suárez, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic final offseason, and in got here 18-year-olds Pedri González, Ansu Fati and Ilaix Moriba, amongst different promising abilities.
For Koeman, the principle factor that Barcelona lacked in opposition to PSG was the final touch offered by Mbappe, who scored 4 targets within the mixture 5-2 victory.
“I think everyone can be proud of the image we have shown,” Koeman mentioned. “Once again this team showed that it has a great future.”
Now the query is whether or not pleasure and promise are sufficient for Messi, now 33, to remain put.