This is as close to definitive as you’ll ever get.
Lionel Messi may seem incredibly happy and settled at Barcelona, and say all the right things about his deep affection for the Catalan club, but he’s fooling no one.
Hot on the heels of his fifth Ballon d’Or, the greatest footballer who ever lived is clearly at a crossroads in his career. Any speculation about his future certainly isn’t lazy journalism.
Barcelona only managed a paltry five trophies in the last calendar year, and Messi’s bitter personal rivalry with Neymar shows no signs of coming to a healthy working conclusion.
Such is the discord between the two South American egomaniacs, as well as the added negative element of Luis Suarez, that the Nou Camp outfit only managed a woeful 179 goals in 2015.
Now, with the situation beyond repair and rumours of a move to the Premier League growing, Messi’s other half has pretty much confirmed that the player is leaving Spain.
Antonella Roccuzzo posted the following Instagram on Thursday night:
The words are taken from ‘A Whole New World’, a song from Disney’s 1992 film Aladdin, but the meaning is clear – Messi is unhappy at Barcelona and desperate to leave.
The ‘whole new world’ that Roccuzzo refers to is very obviously the Premier League, and in keeping with the Arabian setting of the animated feature, his destination is thought to be Abu Dhabi-owned Man City.
Messi’s missus also has a sly dig at Luis Enrique’s tactics, with ‘no one to tell us no, or where to go’ highlighting her partner’s unhappiness at being stifled by his current manager’s restrictive tactics.
Anyone hoping that the fractured relationship may somehow be repaired can forget about it, as a subsequent verse of the quoted song states: ‘I’m like a shooting star, I’ve come so far. I can’t go back to where I used to be.’
It’s clear to us that Roccuzzo is telling the world that FC Barcelona is now history for Messi, and that he is determined to leave as soon as possible.
Or it could just be that she likes the Aladdin soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kl4hJ4j48s
