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Guillem Balague: Lionel Messi's future at Barcelona - does he have one?

Lionel Messi doesn't want to leave Barcelona - but he might have to

Up to now Barcelona Chief Executive, Oscar Grau will always be remembered as one of the club’s handball playing legends.

But could his latest proclamations on Leo Messi’s contract negotiations consign his name to a far more infamous chapter in the history of Barcelona FC - the potential departure of the player who many believe is the greatest of all time?

When questioned recently about what the state of play regarding new contracts Snr Grau proclaimed: “Of course we want to retain the best player in history - and more so because he’s one of those who was ‘made’ at FC Barcelona .

"But we have to analyse everything, keep a clear head and stick to common sense.

"We want to have the best players in our team but we have to prioritize”

First of all it is difficult to imagine a greater 'priority’ than that of securing the services of the one player that has made the difference for Barcelona for years and has continued to do so time and time again this season.

Secondly - and Barcelona will know this - Messi is in no rush whatsoever because as the end of his contract grows inexoraby closer the more bargaining power he will have and the more Barcelona will have to fight to keep him.

It’s that time again; the Mexican stand off. On the one hand Barcelona keep saying they are keen to keep him, while simultaneously putting precisely nothing on the table.

[BARCA SACK DIRECTOR OVER MESSI COMMENTS]

Meanwhile Pere Gratacos, a former coach of Messi and one of the directors of La Masia, decides to stick his oar in when he announced that without Pique, Iniesta and Neymar then Messi wouldn’t be anything like the player that he is.

This is a fairly daft statement for just about anyone to make but coming from one of Messi’s former coaches it defies all logic (in fact, Barcelona decided to sack him today as a club representative in international institutions).

Unless of course what it is, is an opening salvo across Messi’s bows, a directive or a nudge, nudge, wink, wink instruction from the club’s hierarchy to imply that Messi isn’t as important to the club as everyone might be led to believe.

Then, of course, they can add that actually the club doesn’t have the sort of money available to pay Messi what he actually wants.

Gratacos was sacked as a result of his comments.

Let’s be absolutely clear about thing here. Messi does not want to leave Barcelona. He has made that more than plain on many occasions but that’s a long way from saying that, if push came to shove, he wouldn’t.

Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez

What the club really need to take on board is that these are precisely the sort of scenarios that would probably be the ONLY reason why Messi would not renew with Barcelona. A CEO trying to play down negotiations, a coach saying well you’re not THAT good and Messi might - just might - start flirting with the small but incredibly selective queue that will by now have set up camp outside his door.

I don’t see it happening although what is certain is that Grau’s comments have gone down like the proverbial lead balloon with the whole of the Barcelona dressing room.

When it relates to Messi, what’s common-sense got to do with anything has been the immediate reaction from team mate, Luis Suarez.

But here’s the rub.

Messi’s first reaction will not necessarily be “why can’t they pay me more money” but rather “if they can’t pay me more money, then how are they going to afford to spend more money on bringing in the type of player that will guarantee that Barcelona maintain their place at the top of the football tree.”

This is a side that needs constantly to re-examine itself and that involves the spending of a great deal of money not just on who you have but also on who you want

It is impossible not to look at Barcelona in general, and a physically and mentally tired Luis Enrique in particular, and not come to the inescapable conclusion that his project is coming to an end.

And what is anyone doing about it? Nothing.

Luis Enrique should be brave enough to admit that his time has come and the club should have enough courage to grasp the nettle and plan for the future, more than likely with Jorge Sampaoli in the hot seat.

But they aren’t and the unrest is palpable which explains why performances are becoming irregular and the input of the coach seems to be diminishing by the day.

And if indeed this is all a strategy by Oscar Grau to reduce Messi’s expectations then it could backfire on the club bigtime. If this is the case then Messi could well be considering his position because if there is no project to keep on winning, no project to keep on playing the type of football that Barcelona are known for, what on earth is the point of him staying there, irrespective of money.

I fear for Barcelona because the power of the dressing room seems to be growing daily in direct corrolation to the weak language seeping out of the board room, something made clear by Gereard Piqué’s recent pronouncements on referees.

And when a group of players decide the time is right to challenge the CEO it means that the players have too much authority. Put simply they feel no fear and consequently the balance of power is not correct.

Oscar Grau says he has spoken to Pique and told him that the players should not be speaking about refs. Of course they shouldn’t but maybe the players feel that there is no one speaking on their behalf.

If there isn’t money for Messi and, at the time of writing, the renewal for Iniesta is also in doubt in terms of the financial terms he wants and deserves, the question has to be asked. What kind of project are we actually about here at Barcelona?

The next few months will be pivotal in determining just what direction one the most popular football club in the world will be taking. It could well define the club’s future for years to come. Messi will probably stay but it is far, far from a done deal and it isn’t just about the size of his pay packet.