A massive war is brewing at Barcelona
Luis Enrique might be leaving Barcelona at the right time. It’s quite clear that Neymar and Lionel Messi are locked in a bitter battle for control of the Catalan squad.
Rumours of conflict between the two prolific talents have been circulating since the Brazilian’s arrival at Camp Nou. For the most part, I’ve dismissed these reports as idle speculation. Unfortunately for Barcelona fans, the most recent reports coming out of Spain make it clear that’s real conflict between the squad’s two most talented attackers.
Reports from Spain claim that Neymar is trying to assert his control via the summer transfer window. He reportedly is pushing for the club to add several fellow countrymen to the squad. Specifically, Neymar wants to see Philippe Coutinho, Marquinhos and Vinicius Jr. join him with the La Liga giants.
That’s clear sign that Neymar wants to tilt the locker room in his favour. Currently it’s clearly Lionel Messi’s squad. The Brazilian talisman is trying to bring in stars from his home country in an attempt to even things out.
This doesn’t bode well for Messi and Neymar’s ability to successfully coexist for the long haul. Perhaps some Barcelona fans don’t think that’s a huge issue since Messi is nearing the downside of his career. Some might argue that Messi is the club’s present, but Neymar is definitely the future of Barcelona.
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I don’t buy into that line of thinking. As long as Messi is a regular member of Barcelona’s starting XI he is going to be the king of the squad. Neymar’s only chance to change that reality is by bringing a cadre of personal friends into the dressing room. It’s quite obvious that’s exactly what he’s trying to do.
The best thing for the club would be to see Messi and Neymar get on the same page. No matter who the club’s next manager is, their first priority will be to improve the mediocre relationship between the two stars.
Next: Barcelona reveal managerial timeline
Don’t be surprised to see Messi respond to this news by trying to bring some players more partial to him into the squad. It’ll be quite interesting to see if Neymar or Messi get their way in terms of Barcelona’s purchases this summer.