Why Is Lionel Messi Sending Mixed Messages over Barcelona Future?

Lionel Messi is known for doing his talking on the pitch, but that's changed recently.

There has been plenty of chat both from and about the Argentine star away from the action. Sunday night was a case in point.

First of all, there was the game. Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 at the Camp Nou with a brilliant performance, the forward line of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez dazzling in tandem.

Messi was phenomenal, turbo-charged, burning the fuel created by a week of drama in Catalonia.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

He put in a performance which was equal parts skill and grit, showing a determination that has rarely surfaced in him this season.

We saw it against Sevilla, when he got the bit between his teeth and chased down Telmo Zarra's goal record, but not on too many other occasions.

But then, after the game, Messi spoke, saying the words that Barcelona fans wanted to hear.
He told Barca TV, per Sport:

"

I have never demanded anything to stay, as I have no intention of leaving. It is not good to look for rivalry between Luis Enrique and me, because there is none. It is said that my father spoke with Manchester City and with Chelsea. But it is all lies. It is all lies. We must be more united than ever [at Barca]. They should not throw stuff at us. We just want to achieve things for the club.

"

Messi got his point across clearly. There was no doubt, his words mean he wants to stay at Barcelona and that means he will, because there is no reason for the club to get rid of the greatest footballer in their history, and arguably best in the world.

And then, when everything seemed clear at last, the tensions eased and fears he was going to Chelsea subsided, Messi clouded the water again with just a drop of ink.

At the Ballon d'Or ceremony he said, per Sport: "I don't know where I will be next year. I've always said I want to end my career at Barcelona, but as Cristiano just said, nobody knows what the future holds."

Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

It was a needless comment from Messi; just as soon as he had ended talk with a show-stopping performance and strong words, he started it again.

Graham Hunter's article in the Daily Mail about former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is a fantastic read, and although this part isn't related to the over-arching topic, he explains Barcelona and Messi's frequent contract negotiations.

Hunter writes:

"

Ferran Soriano, now in charge at Manchester City, was part of a strategy, formed with fellow vice-president Marc Ingla and director of football Txiki Begiristain nearly 10 years ago now, to ensure that the player’s contract would be spruced up every 12-14 months.

The idea was firstly to ensure the Messi entourage would keep Barca abreast of which club was sniffing about this or that year.

Secondly, it emerged that improving his terms and his ‘sense of wellbeing’ regularly began to be wholly in step with the improvement in his performances, worth, and importance to the club’s trophy winning.

"

Messi last renewed his contract in May and perhaps this agitation suggests he wants to haggle for improved terms once again.

However, the likelihood is that this goes deeper than that. The stories around Messi last week essentially forced Josep Maria Bartomeu to call Barcelona's club elections a year early, at the end of this season.

Perhaps Messi feared the stability he installed on Sunday night, with a superior display and words to quieten talk from the past week, would mean that people lost their focus on the errors that the current board have made.

Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

Sid Lowe wrote an excellent column in the Guardian after Barcelona's important victory over Atletico and analyses the offensive put on by both Messi and Javier Mascherano after the game.

"Not long after the game finished, the game began," explained Lowe, and he wasn't wrong.

There are a few key observations he makes which scrutinise just why both Mascherano and Messi came out and dismissed all the rumours as untrue, turning the backlash of the supporters on the press.

"

Handily, a new enemy had been created: handier still, it was an external one. It did not really matter if it was true, it may be useful. Short term, it was necessary. 

Not every player followed suit, Iniesta noting simply he was “not aware” of Mascherano’s words when asked about them. But last night, the response was a more effective one, an efficient exercise in crisis management. It was striking how in control Messi looked, how confident, and how clearly he spoke – a long way from the mumbling awkward kid they called “el mudo,” the mute one.

It was striking too how determined Mascherano had been, so conscious of his role, of the significance of the message, the need to project an image of unity amid the division. This was an operation to contain the crisis and an impressive one.

"

Unity and an external enemy make a lot of sense for Barcelona. Just because Messi may be unhappy and considering leaving, it doesn't mean he doesn't want to succeed this year with the team.

If Messi is giving mixed messages, it's because his feelings are still mixed. The one thing he knows is that it's beneficial to have someone else to turn the fire on to, when he needs breathing space. 

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

An issue is clearly not resolved by one brilliant performance and hearing his name echoed around a packed Camp Nou before and after the game, however pleased that would have made him feel. 

Blood has been drawn and there is plenty more that will be spilled before the season is out. Nobody is safe—players, managers, executives or journalists.