Suarez ‘didn’t deserve to be thrown out’: Messi’s Barca fight continues

Business as regular or enterprise uncommon, that’s the query as Lionel Messi returns to work on Sunday—with a brand new coach in Ronald Koeman and with out Luis Suarez, his companion on the pitch and pal off it. “(The possibility of) Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona wasn’t very nice. That was a bit of distraction because he is a very important player for La Liga,” stated league ambassador Luis Garcia forward of Barcelona’s opener, in opposition to Unai Emery’s Villarreal.

“What is most important is what happens when he joins training. He looks like, as we all were expecting, giving 100%,” stated the previous Barcelona, Liverpool and Atletico de Kolkata participant on a Zoom name with choose journalists on Thursday.

Messi, Barcelona’s all-time highest scorer with 634 targets, joined coaching later than his teammates however has performed in all three Barcelona friendlies, scoring two targets in a single.

Barcelona have bought Ivan Rakitic, Nelson Semedo and Arturo Vidal however it’s Suarez, their third highest scorer with 198 targets and the one participant within the Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo period to have been La Liga’s highest scorer, who could possibly be missed.

“You did not deserve for them to throw you out like they did. But the truth is at this stage nothing surprises me anymore,” stated Messi in an Instagram submit on Friday.

Barcelona mess around Messi and there have been attacking gamers who haven’t clicked with him. It is an extended listing of exemplary performers resembling Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o. With Suarez, there was no downside. Now it should be seen how Messi clicks with Antoine Griezmann, more likely to be Suarez’s substitute. If match, a hurting Suarez could possibly be simply what Atletico Madrid want to resolve their goal-scoring downside.

Koeman, Pep Guardiola’s companion in Barcelona’s ‘Dream Team’ underneath Johan Cruyff, can be more likely to ditch the 4-3-Three formation for 4-2-3-1 to permit Frenkie de Jong to precise himself like at Holland. With Miralem Pjanic becoming a member of, it might imply Sergio Busquets, one other one of many membership’s outdated guard who president Josep Maria Bartomeu desires to promote, getting much less sport time. If Pjanic and de Jong kind a holding midfield partnership, Gerrard Pique and Messi could possibly be the one gamers from the well-known Guardiola years Koeman makes use of repeatedly. Quite a few younger gamers have joined and Philippe Coutinho is again.

“These last few months… it hasn’t been the best way to get into Barcelona’s manager’s position. A new coach, a new way of playing but with the same philosophy, you could call this a transition but I will put Barcelona in the title fight along with Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and maybe Sevilla,” stated Garcia.

Fernando Morientes, additionally a league ambassador, added Villarreal and Real Betis to that blend.

Real Madrid are additionally a workforce in transition. They have off-loaded 16 gamers, together with Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez. “The coach probably didn’t want protagonists who could cause problems on a daily basis,” stated Morientes, a striker who had scored 72 targets in his profession for Real Madrid.

The membership has not purchased any gamers both, reposing religion as a substitute on loaned gamers resembling Martin Odegaard (21), goalie Andre Lunin (21) and right-back Alvaro Odriozola (24). Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Federico Valverde are a few of different junior gamers at Real. “We need to start to let young players be protagonists now,” stated Morientes.