Messi tells Koeman he sees future away from Barcelona: report

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has been at the center of numerous transfer speculations in the past year. The bitter end to FC Barcelona's 2019-2020 season stoked the flames even more. The latest reports state that the team captain has told his new coach that he sees his future away from the club.

Although Messi has personally been silent in the middle of the influx of speculations, numerous publications have been pushing the narrative that he is unhappy with the club and is closer than ever to leaving.

Spanish publication Marca has reported that the Barca forward has held a meeting with newly-appointed Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman. In the said meeting, Messi allegedly told the coach that he sees himself taking his future outside of Barcelona.

Koeman was brought in this week following the sacking of Quique Setien. Heads were rolling at Barcelona all week, with sporting director Eric Abidal also seeing the door. The changes were made after the club suffered a humiliating 2-8 defeat at the hands of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final knockout match.

Messi looked completely dejected during that match, and even without saying anything, it was very clear that he wasn't happy. The question is, is he unhappy enough to consider a drastic move to another club?

Even if the six-time Ballon d'Or winner decides to leave, he knows that he is still under contract until the end of the 2020-21 season. Not only will Barcelona have to sanction the move, his release clause, allegedly worth 700 million euros, will have to be triggered.

There is no doubt that many clubs would be willing to pay for the Argentine's services. However, with the financial hit that the entire football community is taking due to the coronavirus pandemic, only a handful of clubs can realistically afford Messi. Even though some clubs can afford to cough up the cash, it might not be a practical choice that any of them would be willing to take.

Despite the reports, many still believe that Messi is still 100% committed to the club. Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has consistently insisted that Messi fully intends to see out his career at the Camp Nou. Messi himself has yet to give a definitive statement.