FC Barcelona crisis: Messi continues to show dip in form

Lionel Messi has not been impressive so far this season and his lacklustre performances have contributed to Barcelona's mediocre season. Critics are pointing to his lack of motivation, which might be stemming from his desire to leave the club.

Messi lost possession 29 times in Barcelona's La Liga encounter against Cadiz at the Estadio Ramon de Carranza. The Catalans lost 2-0 over the weekend, and they continue to struggle all the way down in 9th place at the league table.

Another factor that may be contributing to Messi's dip in form is the fact that he lost a lot of support from the players he's used to having around him. The highly successful Barcelona attacking triumvirate was broken when Neymar Jr. left for PSG. This summer, Luis Suarez was sold to Atletico Madrid.

Messi has only scored seven times in 13 matches so far this season. It does not seem so bad except for the fact that five of those goals came from penalty kicks. With only two goals scored so far form open play, Messi has been underwhelming compared to his usual explosive performances.

The landscape at Barcelona is very different from the successful seasons that Messi has enjoyed since his career started at the Camp Nou.

Ronald Koeman took over after Quique Setien was sacked at the end of last season. The Dutchman sold a handful of key players other than Suarez, with the likes of Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal seeing the door over the summer. However, Koeman insists that Messi is at the centre of his plans for the future.

Will Messi be a willing participant? That remains to be seen. He still has over six months to make a decision before his contract expires at the end of the current season.

The crisis at Barcelona led to the resignation of former president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Carles Tusquets, the president of the managing board currently in charge of Barcelona, does not appear to hold Messi in as high regard as his predecessor. Fans are eagerly awaiting his fate, but this season is taking a long time to lift off from the slump.