Messi left furious after details of Koeman meeting gets leaked

FC Barcelona captain Lionel Messi is reportedly furious after details of his meeting with new club manager Ronald Koeman were leaked to the press.

Last week, Quique Setien was sacked by the Catalan giants following a humiliating 2-8 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. A few days later, amid massive calls for big changes at the club, Koeman was appointed as new head coach.

Messi reportedly returned to Barcelona to have the customary first meeting between captain and coach. Spanish publication Clarin stated that RAC1 leaked the information that Messi told his coach that he sees his future more outside Barcelona than inside.

The issue is not that the details are incorrect, but the fact of the leak itself. Messi is apparently angry that the media is being allowed to paint him as the captain who is planning on abandoning his sinking ship.

According to the report, Messi is closer than ever to making a move away from Barcelona because he is convinced that he was not heard ever since he had warned the club about a potential disaster stemming back from the departure of Neymar Jr. Messi also believes that Bartomeu did not make enough of an effort to recover the Brazilian last year, despite Neymar indicating his desire to return.

To the Argentine star, the signings of Dembele, Coutinho, Griezmann and Vidal are not enough to merit the changes needed. That much was proven after the club failed to defend their La Liga title against Real Madrid this season, and they were booted out in such humiliating fashion from the UEFA Champions League.

For now, all of this is hearsay. Messi himself has not spoken directly to the public about the situation. Bartomeu has been insisting that there is no trouble between the club and Messi, and the captain fully intends to finish his career at the Camp Nou. It remains to be seen if the alleged conflict is all just tabloid fodder or if in fact, there is fire when you see smoke.