Messi, who missed the first three games of La Liga 2019-20 due to calf injury, was expected to recover in time to feature against Valencia. However, Valverde said the injury is worse than first expected.
Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi waves before the 54th Joan Gamper Trophy friendly football match between Barcelona and Arsenal at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on August 4, 2019. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde insisted he has no doubt about Lionel Messi’s future with the Catalan club and believes that the Argentinian’s comments have been exaggerated.
Clearing the air, Messi, in an interview with SPORT this week, has stated he does not intend to leave the club, though his commitment came on the condition of continued success.
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Notably, Messi signed 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.
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“I didn’t want to read it. I know what Leo has to say,” Valverde was reported saying by Goal at 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,” the Spanish manager said, adding, “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,” he added.
Messi, who missed the first three games of La Liga 2019-20 due to calf injury, was expected to recover in time to feature against Valencia. However, Valverde said the injury is worse than first expected, with Messi also unlikely to play against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.
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