Lionel Messi’s coterie could see Barcelona lose out on one of their best players who was tipped to be a big star in the future.
Real Madrid’s defeat at the hands of Real Betis last weekend sent Barcelona to the top of La Liga with a lead of two points. The Catalans won their game crucially against Real Sociedad in the Camp Nou, courtesy of a Lionel Messi goal. However, the game was far from Barca’s best and it took them 70 minutes and a penalty to get them across the line.
One of the biggest problems this season with the Blaugrana, irrespective of whether Ernesto Valverde or Quique Setien has been in the dugout, has been the scoring of goals. Lionel Messi has been leading the way since the start of the campaign and Luis Suarez, who is now recovering from a long-term injury has scored a handful as well.
Former Atletico Madrid superstar and last summer’s lucrative signing Antoine Griezmann has been employed out of position and hence, struggled in making the impact. Plus, Griezmann’s decision-making has been horrific as he has gone for unjustifiable passes more often than not instead of directly going for goal.
Barcelona’s next big problem though is a practically dead midfield. It has taken Lionel Messi to drop back and create chances because the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Arthur Melo have failed in their duties. De Jong has been absolutely outclassed by Federico Valverde of Real Madrid, whereas Arthur just cannot be himself from the previous season.
Don Balon has claimed that in what could be a major rebuild this summer, Lionel Messi has asked the club to sell off Arthur in the upcoming transfer window. Arthur’s performances last year saw him get labelled as the “next Xavi” but this time out, he has been unable in controlling the midfield as was expected of him as he benched Ivan Rakitic.
Arthur dropped one of his worst Barcelona performances in El Clasico where he was outdone by Federico Valverde, besides missing a one-on-one against Thibaut Courtois that could have changed the complexion of the game. Messi believes that Arthur has not lived up to the hype and should be sold while his stock is high if these kind of performances continue.
Which club do you think is ideal for Arthur if he does not have a future at the Camp Nou?
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