The Bulgarian star believes that Barca has a bright future, but the legendary Argentine must see that for himself if he is to stay
Hristo Stoichkov says that Barcelona president Joan Laporta won’t be able to convince Lionel Messi to stay with the club as the Argentinian star will make the decision all on his own.
Messi’s contract is set to come to an end this summer, leaving the Barcelona legend free to move on should he so desire.
Last summer, Messi told Goal that he wanted to leave the club due to his unhappiness with then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu but, even with Bartomeu gone, his future remains uncertain.
What did Stoichkov say?
“Nobody is going to be able to convince Messi of anything if he is clear about what to do,” the Bulgarian legend told Goal. “I will always support the decision Leo makes, and Laporta has done it too. It seems to me that this is what to do with a legend, who has made us laugh and even cry.”
He added: “It is true that Laporta had a brilliant time at Barca. He has made big decisions, like trusting [Pep] Guardiola, and that established a time when great football was played, excellent and mature. But today you don’t have Xavi or [Andres] Iniesta or Deco or Ronaldinho or Eto’o or those who made it possible.
“This was a team born to win, and that must be assumed. You have other types of players. You have a generation of the future, but that is not going to give you the maximum of its possibilities from today to tomorrow. And that’s what Messi must believe in and Laporta must convince him.”
Stoichkov backs Koeman and Barca’s young stars
Stoichkov and current Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman were team-mates with the club from 1990 to 1995, and the Bulgarian says the two still enjoy a friendship today
And Stoichkov says that he believes that his former team-mate is the right person to lead Barcelona through this generational switch headlined by young stars like Ansu Fati and Pedri.
“I believe a lot in Ronald. We are great friends,” he said. ” And it is true that there is a lot of talent in Barcelona. People like [Marc-Andre] Ter Stegen, [Gerard] Pique, [Jordi] Alba, [Sergio] Busquets, Leo himself have to do what they did with me: help young people and work with them.
“After many years you have Pedri, Ansu Fati, [Ronald] Araujo, [Oscar] Mingueza, Riqui Puig. And Barca has a lot with them. They have them today, but they are going to grow a lot. I tell Pedri that.”
Be the first to comment