Man City on RED ALERT as Koeman admits Messi to LEAVE Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman admits he expects Lionel Messi to leave at the end of the season.

Koeman suggested Messi is not planning to stay at the club past this season. Manchester City have already said they will be in a position to sign Messi if he becomes available.

He said: "I was always hoping Messi would stay for this season. If he had left in the summer, I would have had a very different situation at Barca.

“He wanted to leave but the club was very clear to him. The buy out clause was so high, that not a single club in the world was going to pay that in these times.

“I went to his house and took time to listen to all the things he said. But I also explained to him that I had not been a part of the problems he had with the club and told him how I was going to work to change things.

“We ended up talking football tactics. It ended as a proper football chat and that convinced me he is a real lover of the game and he still wanted to put everything he has into Barcelona."