Messi’s Commitment To Barcelona Cannot Be Doubted – Ernesto Valverde

Barcelona coach, Ernesto Valverde has said Lionel Messi’s comments about his Barcelona future have been blown out of proportion, and there is no doubt that the Argentine is fully committed to the club.

Messi penned a four-year contract in 2017, but the agreement includes a clause which gives him the option of leaving on a free transfer at the end of each campaign.

This had led to speculations that has to do with an exit, however, Valverde is sure Lionel’s words have been misinterpreted, even if Barca’s head coach acknowledged he is unable to control what players say in the press.

His words, “I didn’t want to read it. I know what Leo has to say,” Valverde told a news conference when asked if Messi’s comments suggested a rift between Barca’s star player and the club’s board.

“He expresses himself naturally and then people tend to misinterpret what he has said.

“Everything he says, people try to squeeze out every sub-meaning from his words. I think he was just trying to express things naturally, I don’t think we need to worry.

“I don’t think there are any doubts regarding his future. It’s the club that decides which players it’s going to keep or not, but I don’t think there are any concerns, certainly I don’t have any concerns about it.”

“The scar opened a little bit, so it’s told us that we need to exercise a little bit of caution,”

“I don’t think it’s long that he’ll be back again. But Tuesday, I don’t know, probably later.

“Of course he’s a very important player for us, I can’t deny that, but there has been other times when he hasn’t played and we’ve got through games very well.

“He’s the best player in the world so we want him back as soon as possible, but we want him to come back at full fitness, not for him to come back and then take things a step even further back.

“Missing Messi is always going to be noted, but it also means possibilities for other players to up their game. We saw that against Real Betis, certainly.

“Knowing how difficult it is to replace Messi, we need the guarantee that the team is still able to compete in his absence.”