Argentina boss, Lionel Scaloni, says that he’s happy that the ‘Messi Saga’ is finally over. He further added that he is happy that Lionel Messi, the all-time top goalscorer of the country, has decided to stay at FC Barcelona this summer. He also said that he feels that it is a positive thing for the national team.
The Argentine captain created headlines across the world on the 26th of August. It was when he informed the Barca board through fax that he did not want to continue with the Catalonian giants. With many rumours of a possible move to Manchester City rising up, the saga finally ended with no result. That was when Lionel Messi was unable to find a way out of the club due to some legal disputes in his contract.
What Lionel Scaloni Said About The Lionel Messi Saga?
The captain is now with the Argentina squad for the World Cup qualifiers. They will be playing a couple of games against Ecuador and Bolivia. Scaloni says his captain is now happy.
“I spoke to Leo when everything was resolved and I saw him calm. Since his arrival, we have been able to have a long chat. He is happy to be here. He’s now well in his club. All we wanted from a distance was for everything to be resolved and for him to play and to be fit.”
With Messi’s dispute with the club now seemingly resolved, Scolani believes that La Pulga will be more involved in the matters on the pitch than the matters off the pitch which will keep his mood lightened up so that he can focus on his game.
He added, “For us, it is positive that he stayed because he was able to play immediately, he knows the club. But in terms of decisions, we don’t get involved in that, we don’t step in the player’s territory.”
The fans of Lionel Messi expressed their joy after seeing him train with the Argentina squad, all over the Social Media. The Argentine captain looked really happy and was seen smiling after a really long time.
What Next For Messi And Co.?
Messi and Argentina’s first game is against Ecuador at La Bombonera on Thursday. This comes before they head to La Paz to face Bolivia on Tuesday. Both are games that they should be winning. There is no doubt that the players are ready for it, after a long break.
Messi’s disappointment with the club started with the constant failure of Barca every year in the Champions League. It started with Atletico Madrid in 2017. Then Roma and Liverpool respectively shocked FCB in the consecutive years. The 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich was the final nail to the coffin of FCB.
Moreover, the team was criticised by the board for these failures. Messi, particularly felt he had been blamed for the eventual sacking of Ernesto Valverde. This was followed by Barcelona’s former director of football Eric Abidal leaving the club too.
To add to that, there were a lot of other rumours going around. The Barcelona board had manufactured stories that the players had been reluctant to take a pay cut in the wake of Covid-19.
Will He Be Leaving At The End Of The Season?
When Messi had finally decided that he wanted to leave the club, the board claimed a dispute about the true value of Messi’s release clause. Barcelona said that a fee of around €700m (£630m) needed to be met. While the player’s representatives argued he could walk away for nothing and Messi’s plans fell through.
Messi made some staggering revelations after that in the interview which he gave to Goal. This is where he mentioned that there has not been any big scale project in the club for a long time. That the board has used his love for the club against him. This is because they knew very well that he wouldn’t go to the court against Barca. However, things now seem to be sorted out between the player and the club.
