Ronald Koeman hopes Lionel Messi will stick around for ‘great future’ at Barcelona

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman hopes Lionel Messi will not be disheartened by the team’s exit from the Champions League and instead focus on all signs of improvement.

The Spanish side crashed out in the last 16 at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, whose 4-1 victory from the first leg ensured a 1-1 draw on Wednesday was good enough to see them through to the next round.

While elimination obviously hurts, Barcelona put up a real fight. Since that first-leg drubbing, La Blaugrana have shown immense improvement, with their comeback against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey arguably the best moment of the season for them. Koeman admitted after the game that he hopes Messi will be able to see a bright future for Barcelona.

“Leo has seen for quite some time that the team is improving thanks to all the changes we’ve made,” Koeman began (via BBC Sport).

“Particularly, we have young players of great quality. We’ve got a great future ahead. Leo can’t have any doubts about what the future holds for this team.

“We are departing this Champions League in a very different manner from the way we did last season. In this game, we hit our level and that’s the road we have to follow.”

The performance earned Barcelona plenty of plaudits, including from former midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who tweeted: “Playing like this, a title at the end of the season is more than possible.”

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Koeman believes Barcelona are trending in the right direction | Soccrates Images/Getty Images

Messi’s future still remains up in the air. His contract is up at the end of the season, but it was thought that the Argentine was always prepared to wait until after March’s presidential elections before seriously evaluating his future.

Joan Laporta is the new president at the club, and according to Jose Antonio Ponseti, his arrival has already forced Messi to put the brakes on plans for a move away.

Ponseti told Cadena SER’s Carrusel Deportivo that Messi’s father and agent have already cancelled a meeting set up to discuss Messi potentially moving to Paris – talks were expected to revolve around living in the city, not a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain – but Messi has promised Laporta that he will listen to his plea before making any decisions.

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Laporta is desperate to keep Messi | LLUIS GENE/Getty Images

It is the first time that Messi’s camp has shown a willingness to sit down with Barcelona to talk about the future, with Laporta known to be desperate to appease the Argentine and keep him at Camp Nou for the rest of his career.

Ponseti insisted that there was a 50% chance that Messi would stay at Camp Nou, before claiming that ‘whatever happens, he will be in Miami in two years anyway’.

Messi is thought to be interested by the idea of ending his career in Major League Soccer, and these comments will only step up the hype around a potential switch to David Beckham’s Inter Miami.

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When Edinson Cavani is expected to make a decision on Man Utd future

Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani is expected to wait until the end of the season before making a decision on his future at the club.

The Uruguayan penned a one-year contract when he joined as a free agent last summer, and although there is the option to extend that by a further year, reports in Argentina suggested that Cavani had already decided to join Boca Juniors at the end of the season.

Cavani’s father then joined in on all the fun by claiming that the striker was unhappy at United and longed to return to South America. However, ESPN have poured cold water on that by stating that Cavani plans to remain in Europe to boost his chances of playing at the 2022 World Cup.

He is not believed to have held talks with anyone from Boca and instead plans to wait until the summer before deciding on his next move. As for United, they are waiting until Cavani recovers from his current injury before opening talks.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Thursday’s Europa League tie with AC Milan, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also rejected the idea that Cavani had already made a decision about his future.

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Solskjaer says talks have not been held | Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

“From my bad Portuguese and his better English he is very proud to play for Man Utd and he’s always going to give his best,” the boss stated. “A decision hasn’t been made.

“As we’ve said he’s made a great contribution so far, we’re just working on getting him back on the pitch and fit and we’ll convince him when the weather in Manchester improves.

“He knows we’re very fond of what he’s given to the club even though he’s probably played less games than he probably wanted to.”

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Cavani has managed 25 appearances in all competitions this season, 13 of which have come as a starter. Instead, Solskjaer has preferred to keep his faith in younger players like Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood, using Cavani predominantly as an impact sub.

It’s that limited role which has sparked the concerns over Cavani’s alleged unhappiness. The 34-year-old was one of the game’s scariest hitmen just two years ago and the rumours suggest he is still confident of performing at that level.

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Twitter reacts as PSG and Liverpool progress to Champions League quarter finals at Lionel Messi’s expense

It’s true that there doesn’t seem to be any form of beginning or end to football nowadays, and this continuous cycle of non-stop matches has worn down even the most passionate supporter.

But there’s one evening we can all get in the mood for, and that’s Champions League night! More specifically, that’s Champions League with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and RB Leipzig…night!

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Lionel Messi vs. Kylian Mbappe was always going to be the main event on tonight’s card, and the duo served us up a plate of goals, magic and heartbreak, all in equal size.

Barça were praying for a miracle in this second leg, having lost 4-1 at Camp Nou in February, but their attempts at Remontada #2 got off to the worst possible start. PSG were awarded a penalty by VAR (boooo) and Mbappe stepped up to take the edge off the hosts’ evening.

In doing so, he reached a huge milestone, set a new record, and drew comparisons with another of football’s wonderkids.

And one statistic felt like a very significant passing of the torch, as it involved the breaking of a record set by the majestic Messi when he was just a wee boy, tearing teams apart with his long, flowing locks.

Did he feel the pressure when stepping up to convert that spot-kick? Did Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s antics on the goal-line faze him in any way? Absolutely not.

But the old man still had some life in those little legs. Messi thundered Barça back into the game with an outrageous strike from distance, which seemed to gather momentum as it flew into the top corner of Keylor Navas’ net. No stopping that one, pal.

1-1 and game on in the Champions League. And approaching the end of the first-half, Barça were handed the chance to head into the dressing rooms with the lead, when the referee awarded a penalty for the visitors. Messi, having just banged one onto the Queen’s head from 30 yards, somehow missed from only 12.

At least there was one group of fans who enjoyed that miss…

Actually, make that two groups of fans…

Of course, credit has to go to Navas for his stop.

So, absolute drama. And with all that chaos, we almost forgot there was another game going on at the same time! Liverpool were aiming to see out their 2-0 lead from the first leg, and in fairness, were actually involved in a pretty fast-paced and exciting first 45 minutes.

The only difference is that Messi and Mbappe weren’t on the pitch. Instead, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane were doing their best to make Jurgen Klopp’s evening as uncomfortable as possible. Same old, then.

But Salah silenced his critics, and thousands of you on Twitter, putting the game to bed on 70 minutes with a neat finish inside the near post. And breathe, Reds, you’re through.

You lot change your tune quickly. Once Salah had lit the way, Mane followed suit, and it was game over.

Over in Paris, Barça couldn’t find their way through the French champions for a second time that evening, and the hosts eventually eased into the quarter-finals. Of course, it was heartache for Messi.

Let’s hope we see him in the Champions League wearing a Barça shirt next year…

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Fabinho’s return to midfield key to Liverpool’s victory over RB Leipzig

Listen, it’s not the hottest take you’ll read this season, but didn’t Liverpool look so much better when they had defenders playing in defence and their first choice defensive midfielder playing in defensive midfield?

The Reds ended a run of two straight defeats and two games without a goal to book their place in the Champions League quarter finals with a 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening.

After a torrid run of Premier League form, the Reds looked sharp, fluid, dynamic and exciting going forward as they eased past their Bundesliga opponents – and they could have been home and dry by half time.

Key to Liverpool’s impressive display was Fabinho. The Brazilian, who has spent much of the season deputising at centre half following the Reds’ spate of defensive injuries, was given a start in his natural defensive midfield role for the first time since October’s Merseyside derby, and Jurgen Klopp’s side looked all the better for it.

Fabinho shielded the back four effectively, broke up play and crunched into tackles, and his assured defensive presence appeared to free up Georginio Wijnaldum and Thiago Alcantara ahead of him in Liverpool’s midfield three.

The increased freedom and fluidity that the pair seemed to be playing with was evident from the off, with Thiago racing through on goal in the opening exchanges, and Wijnaldum picking passes to carve out opportunities for both his midfield partner and Sadio Mane.

Allowing Fabinho to move further up the pitch was possible thanks to the trust Jurgen Klopp put in the young central defensive partnership of Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak. The pair looked robust and totally at ease with the occasion, Phillips throwing his head onto absolutely everything and anything that came within a 20m radius of his fetching black headband.

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Fabinho freed up Wijnaldum & Thiago | David Balogh/Getty Images

The strong performance from the duo, plus the appearance of Ben Davies on the Liverpool bench, will give hope that Fabinho will be able to be utilised in midfield more frequently as the season concludes.

Liverpool created opening after opening in the first half, and their wastefulness could have been a cause for concern given they have drawn blanks in three of their last four outings. However, the important thing was Jurgen Klopp’s side were creating chances – the five first half shots that they had on target was more than they had mustered across the full 90 minutes in each of their recent Premier League defeats to Fulham, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester, Manchester City and Brighton.

It looked as if the Reds could have had a touch of the Brightons about them as for all their good football they saw chance after chance go begging, but Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane applied the finishing touches to a pair of slick Liverpool moves to ensure their ultimately comfortable progression into the Champions League last eight.

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Lionel Messi penalty nightmare proves Barcelona remontada was just a silly dream

Realistically, we shouldn’t be the least bit surprised by Barcelona’s failure to mount ‘Remontada #2’.

It would have been a bridge too far for a good side, let alone this current crop of Camp Nou misfits. No, Wednesday evening belonged to Paris Saint-Germain, and we knew it all along – even if we weren’t quite ready to accept it.

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A new wonderkid is in town | Xavier Laine/Getty Images

Perhaps we weren’t prepared to accept that football isn’t one constant miracle, and just because we whisper about the possibility of the impossible rearing its magical head, it won’t automatically present itself before us.

And mostly, we weren’t ready to acknowledge that Lionel Messi just isn’t capable of pulling rabbits out of the hat anymore – even if those around him still chuck the top-hat his way and stand around with eyes wide and hearts in mouths.

Barça travelled to Paris with the faintest of hopes of qualifying for the Champions League quarter-finals, but those dreams were pinned on nothing more than a memory of a glorious night almost exactly four years ago.

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A grimace we’ve seen all too often | Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

In fact, the memories which should have surfaced instead, were those of La Blaugrana’s collapse in Rome in 2018, or their even more shocking 4-0 defeat at Anfield in the semi-finals only a year later. And yet, the 2017 Remontada played on a loop in the back of our minds, hoping to being prayed into existence for a second time.

And for 45 minutes, we dared to dream. Barça conceded on the half-hour mark, but little changed for the visitors. They still needed four goals. Seven minutes later, one arrived, and in a manner that only a match-defining strike can arrive.

Messi, the superstar carrying all the hopes and dreams, just rocketed one into the top corner from 30 yards. A lightning bolt of anger and rage from football’s fading God. And then, all of a sudden, the flashbacks began to blind PSG’s stars.

Stage-fright was in full flow, and when Barça were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half-time, the Remontada was on. But as soon as the Remontada was giveth, it was as swiftly taketh from our hearts.

The man charged with leading his troops to glory missed from the spot, and with that, the energy and belief was zapped from the game. It was a monumental moment in the tie, undoubtedly shifting the pendulum back in PSG’s favour, and saving them from what felt an inevitable embarrassment.

Luckily for the French champions, they happened to be facing one of the very few bigger bottlers than themselves in Barcelona. But that can’t be put squarely on Messi’s shoulders. He did everything he could in the second half to break the hosts down, but in the end, it was too high a mountain to climb.

The chances came and went, and the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann spurned their own potentially game-defining moments. But that is the story of this Barça side.

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Di Maria embraces Messi | FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images

It has moments of genius, and players such as Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Messi roll back the years and click through the gears like they did for season after season. But it’s not enough anymore. They’re not enough.

And it’s as much our fault for even believing they could be enough.

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