In what can be seen as an extension of the feud between Barcelona and Lionel Messi, coach Ronald Koeman has said that the Argentine footballer’s happiness is not in his hands. However, he admitted that it was pleasing to hear Messi talking about ending his disputes with the club.

“I don’t know if after Messi’s words I will have a quiet life as coach of Barcelona, I don’t think so, there is always something, but of course it is very positive that the captain has come out like that asking us to be united,” Koeman said in a press conference on Wednesday as quoted by AFP.

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“This was very positive and hopefully everything will be a bit quieter than it has been recently,” he added.

On being asked if Messi is right now happy at Barcelona, Koeman said, “I don’t know if I have that sort of thing in my hands. As a coach we have to look to make a better team for him, where he can shine, and look for a position in the team where he can deliver the best performances that he has always delivered for this club.”

“I have seen in these four weeks that he lives for football, even in training matches he does everything to win and I think that winning matches is the remedy for Leo to be happy in this team.”

Messi’s brewing tension with FC Barcelona had come to the forefront after he expressed his desire to leave his childhood club after the end of the last season.

However, Barcelona maintained that Messi’s contract had a clause that allowed him to move out of the club for free, but it needed to be activated by June 10. According to the management at Camp Nou, the only way he would be allowed to depart now is by paying the release clause of 700 million euros.

The lawyers of the six-time Ballon d’Or winners, on the other hand, argue that the clause doesn’t refer to a specific date but to 10 days after the end of the 2019-20 season.

But eventually, the Argentina international took a a U-turn and decided to remain at the club till the end of the next season. Citing that it would be impossible to pay the 700m euro release clause, Messi said he would complete his four-year contact.

He further added that he did not want to move court against the club which he had joined at the age of 13.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview to the Spanish daily Sport, Messi has called for peace. He said, “After so many disagreements, I would like to put an end to it. We must unite as Barcelona fans and believe that the best is yet to come.”

“I’ll take responsibility for my mistakes. It they happened, it was with the intention of making Barcelona better and stronger.

“If at any time I upset some of them for something I did or said, they shouldn’t doubt that it was always thinking about the best for the club,” the 33-year-old added.