Ronald Koeman Reiterates Lionel Messi's Importance to Barcelona 'When Fit'
By Mitch Wilks
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman has put the building blocks in place for repairing Lionel Messi's relationship with the club, after stating that he remains of paramount importance to the club - 'when fit'.
Messi shocked the world in August when he announced he wanted to leave Barcelona, and subsequently faxed the club a document stating that he intended to activate a clause in his contract that would allow him to walk away from Camp Nou for free.
But after it became apparent that Messi would likely be dragged through the courts - after Barcelona and La Liga disputed his claim - he performed a u-turn, and will now remain at the club for the 2020/21 campaign.
Now, speaking ahead of a pre-season friendly this weekend, new head coach Koeman has described the six-time Ballon d'Or winner as 'the best', but did allude to fitness concerns.
"Messi when he is physically fit is a very important player as he has shown for many years and I hope he can repeat it this year," he responded, when questioned about the Argentine legend.
The quote from Koeman suggests that Messi could be behind in a bid to get match fit, having only returned to pre-season training at the beginning of this week. The rest of the Barça squad have already been back for two weeks and, by Koeman's account, have been able to advance to more technical work.
"We're two weeks in and the players are working very well. There is a good level of intensity in training, first of all with the fitness side in the opening weeks, and now with tactics".
He then described the makeshift pre-season regime as 'tricky' and revealed that the squad are all currently at different levels of fitness, with the effects of international call ups for some players. Barcelona will field two teams in Saturday's friendly against Gimnastic as a result, with no player getting any more than 45 minutes.
17-year-old academy breakout star Ansu Fati is set to miss the friendly with a hip injury. He became the Spanish national team's youngest goalscorer during the international break, bagging their third goal in their 4-0 Nations League victory against Ukraine.
As for Barcelona themselves, they kick off their 2020/21 La Liga campaign on 27 September against Sevilla, giving Messi just over two weeks to reach a level of fitness that Koeman deems appropriate.