Lionel Messi has sent a “big warning” to Barcelona that his long-term future may not be with them, says ex-Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley.
Earlier this week Messi revealed his disappointment that Barca did not re-sign Neymar in the summer.
“I would have loved to have Neymar back,” he told Sport.
“I understand those people who are against his return and it’s understandable for what happened with ‘Ney’ and the way that he left.
“But thinking about it on a sporting level, I personally think Neymar is one of the best players in the world and having him in our squad would increase our chances of achieving our objectives.
“What I do know is [Neymar] was desperate to leave and come to Barcelona.
“I don’t know if the club really tried [to bring him back to Barcelona] or not.
“I need to see there’s a winning team because I want to keep winning things at this club.”
And Burley took the final line of Messi’s quotes to mean he is warning Barcelona he is not against leaving.
“No player should have the power to tell a football club or pressure a football club to bring a certain player in,” Burley said on ESPN FC.
“However, [Lionel Messi] has. Simple as that.
“[His comments are] a shot across the bowels of the president and the board to say ‘it’s been great here guys, but I’m seeing a little bit of a lacklustre approach, I’m not seeing the quality that we once had and things are becoming more difficult and I’m not getting any younger and I’m at my peak but I want to be playing in the best teams with the best players, winning the biggest and best trophies’.
“And basically he’s saying to them ‘this is not too big a club for me to go somewhere else’ and I think it’s a big warning to Barcelona going forward.
“I think it could be the start of maybe the unravelling of the relationship.”
