Barcelona lead striker Luis Suarez has asked that the club offer superstar Lionel Messi a new deal, hitting back at comments that the CEO Oscar Grau made recently which has led to lots of serious speculations that the Argentine forward might consider a move away from the Nou Camp.
Grau asked that the club applied “common sense” when negotiating an agreement with Messi, hinting that the club not overspend. The executive officer also said he has asked that defender Gerard Pique stop complaining about referees, hinting that the turmoil at the Catalan side might be far reaching particularly with Barca not being in excellent form of late.
“With Messi what you have to do is give him a new contract, not have common sense,” Suarez said aver the victory over Athletic Bilbao. Spanish source Diario Sport reports that the CEO’s comments have angered the players who are even under a lot of pressure. The reports claimed the comments have expanded the rift between the dressing and board rooms.
The Argentine player’s contract is expected to lapse next year. Whilst the club want to extend his deal the contract details would be key. Grau comments also sparked off a renewed wave of speculations that Messi might move to the Premier League.
The Sun claims Manchester City are ready to offer £100 million to reunite Messi and his former manager Pep Guardiola at the Etihad. Messi would reportedly pocked a mind boggling sum of £800,000 weekly in a five-year deal if he agrees to the move.
Barca coach Luis Enrique stood on the side of the players when he said: “I don’t know what the CEO said but tell me one game in which Leo Messi hasn’t been decisive. I don’t know about numbers, I know about football. We all want to enjoy watching Messi here for many more years, nothing else matter to me.”