This season saw Barcelona’s departure from the top of the Spanish La Liga table, while facing a difficulty to qualify for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, after the team’s 4-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the round of 16.
Despite this, Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has attracted attention recently, after the conversations and statements that confirmed his desire to leave the team, when his contract expires by the end of the current season.
Messi is currently the top goal scorer in La Liga, with 19 goals, three goals ahead Uruguayan Luis Suarez, his former teammate on the Catalan team and currently playing as a striker with rivals and La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
The Argentine scored a goal and led his team to 2-0 victory over Seville in the 25th round of league. The latest goal brings his toll to 12 in the last 8 league matches.
With this goal, Messi brought up his tally at Seville’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium to 13 goals, thus setting the fight over top scorer with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (12 goals).
He also took the crown for having scored the most goals against Sevilla in all competitions with 38 goals, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo, second with 27 goals.
Although Messi is now 33, it is still interesting to see him on the field, presenting amazing glimpses of his talent that never runs out.
After his announcement that he wished to leave the Camp Nou, the football world began to await his next destination, which may be hindered by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The story of Messi’s departure began in the past few months, after the crisis that occurred between the Argentine footballer and his Barcelona. It was not a coincidence, but rather a product of the unhealthy relationship between Messi and Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned from the club’s presidency amid the accumulated pressures on him as a result of Messi’s crisis.
This crisis was due to the booting out of a number of stars, as part of the plan to rebuild the team. Among these was the Croatian star Ivan Rakitic, Chile’s Arturo Vidal, and the Uruguayan Luis Suarez. This was a blow to him by gradually getting rid of some of the players associated with him with the aim of weakening his dominance on the team.
