Barcelona do not have enough to win the Champions League says Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi gave an interview discussing his future at Barcelona and their chances to win the Champions League.

Barcelona has had a tumultuous season both on and off the pitch. The club made a manager change in the middle of the season and there seems to be an ongoing battle between the board and its players.

It might be a reason why Lionel Messi is all of a sudden more open to talk. He did just that when he sat down with Mundo Deportivo and answered a variety of questions including his future at Barcelona and their recent struggles in the Champions League.

On his future,

"“I’ve said it many times that my idea is that [to stay] and as long as the club and the people continue to want that, on my part, there will never be a problem. Many times I’ve also said that I’d like to be here and that we all be well, the club, that the people be happy with the team, that there is a winning sporting project and that we go for all the titles like we’ve always done.”“That is my idea. To stay with this team. I want to win another Champions League, I want to keep winning leagues and I always aspire for that.”Source: Mundo Deportivo"

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Plenty has been talked about regarding Messi’s future not only because of the team’s struggle but because of a special clause in his contract. The clause would essentially allow Messi to decide if he wants to leave at the end of the season.

Messi touched upon that and said that realistically he always had a choice regardless of the clause. He’s had offers from other teams to leave but has always chosen to stay. He’ll be at Barcelona for as long as the club want to have him.

One of his goals continues to be winning another Champions League. The last time they won was back in 2014/15 under Luis Enrique. They’ve crashed out in spectacular fashion the last two seasons against Roma and Liverpool.

However, he knows this season will be even tougher and is realistic about their possibilities.

"“It’s true that if we want to opt for the Champions League we have to continue growing a lot, because I think as it stands today we don’t have enough as we are to fight for the Champions League.”Source: Mundo Deportivo"

A very honest assessment by Messi about their chances at winning the Champions League. He knows the team needs to improve and that it has been a struggle what with the change in manager.

He was asked about Roma and Liverpool and still has no explanation about what happened at Anfield. He said he could understand it happening against Roma but not against Liverpool considering the lead they had going into Anfield.

Messi knows that Barcelona have been irregular in both the league and Europe but that they’re still in the hunt in both those competitions. It will be up to them and how quickly they can improve if they want to win any silverware this season.

Not winning another Champions League and the way they’ve been dumped out of the last two is a thorn in his side. He wants to win another one. It just looks very unlikely he’ll do it with this Barcelona side.