Messi could easily have avoided Barcelona crisis, says Crespo
Former Argentinean striker Hernán Crespo believes that the crisis involving Lionel Messi at Barcelona was unnecessary and could have been avoided.
Lionel Messi should have sought professional advice rather than leave the matter in the hands of his own father during his attempt to leave Barcelona, former Argentina team-mate Hernán Crespo has said.
Messi's final year at Camp Nou
After initially telling Barça he wanted to leave after a trophyless campaign in 2019-20, and amid frustration with the Camp Nou board, Messi performed a U-turn and elected to stay with the embattled LaLiga giants. Messi's contract expires next year, with Barça having been desperate to keep hold of their superstar captain as they look to overhaul the squad under new head coach Ronald Koeman, who replaced Quique Setién last month.
But Crespo believes the crisis could have been avoided, telling TyC Sports: "Here again, with this whole situation, the issue is that... with all due to respect to Jorge Messi, it seems to me that in these circumstances you need a professional by your side. It's not the same thing to talk an agent, that is, someone professional, as your father... the agent is not going to take into account the family issue and so on. You need to be a professional in these cases."
Barcelona's pre-season friendlies
Last season's runners-up Barça kick off their league campaign against Villarreal on 26 September, and have friendlies against Gimnástic Tarragona and Girona lined up in the meantime.
Barça endured a miserable 2019-20 season, dethroned by bitter LaLiga rivals Real Madrid, while they were humiliated 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi scored 25 LaLiga goals and 31 across all competitions for Barca last term.