SPECIAL REPORT: The relationship between player
and coach has become untenable and is one of the
reasons the Catalan club brought forward
presidential elections.
It is clear that a major power struggle is underway at
Barcelona. Regardless of his comments at Wednesday's
press conference , coach Luis Enrique has told the board that
he and Lionel Messi can no longer work together and the
Argentine attacker is also considering his future at the club.
The wider situation at Camp Nou has become so poisonous
that, following the departures of sporting director Andoni
Zubizarreta and club legend Carles Puyol and the
subsequent revelations about the relationship between
Messi and his coach, an emergency meeting was called on
Wednesday. Prior to that, Barca also announced they would
bring forward the 2016 presidential elections to the end of
this season .
Things were tense between player and coach in the months
leading up until Christmas, but it came to a head in an
argument on January 2 as Messi returned to training with
Barca after his holidays in South America.
Two days later, Luis Enrique left the Argentine on the bench
at Real Sociedad and Barca went behind after just two
minutes. "You better warm up," Neymar was then caught
telling his team-mate by the television cameras.
At half-time, Luis Enrique sent on Messi to save his side but
the Argentine's apathetic display said much of his state of
mind and Barca lost the game 1-0. The forward later
exchanged angry words with the club's psychologist
Joaquin Valdes in the tunnel at Anoeta and, the following
day, a holiday in Spain, the 27-year-old missed a special
training session open to fans with what was described as
"gastroenteritis" by the Catalan club.
Regrettably, Xavi had claimed only days earlier that, when
players say they have "gastroenteritis", something else is
usually afoot.
Messi missed training back in 2011 the day after he was left
on the bench by Pep Guardiola at Anoeta and history has
now repeated itself following another game at the same
stadium.
The Argentine then set alarm bells ringing on Monday as he
followed Chelsea's official account on Instagram. That
action was 'liked' by Daniela Semaan, girlfriend of Messi's
friend and former Barca team-mate Cesc Fabregas.
Fabregas swapped Camp Nou for Stamford Bridge in the
summer and admitted recently he would love Messi to join
him in West London. After the latest developments, such a
switch suddenly seems much less far-fetched than
previously. The pair are said to be trying to persuade Leo
and his family to make the same move.
Since Cesc - and former reserve goalkeeper Jose Pinto - left
Barca in the summer, Messi has felt increasingly isolated.
Now without his two best friends at the club and amid a
tense relationship with his coach and the Barca board, he
continues to consider his options.
Luis Enrique is unhappy at the Argentine's absence from
training on Monday and considered opening an investigation
into his no-show, but president Josep Maria Bartomeu is
keen to calm the turbulent atmosphere at Camp Nou.
On Wednesday, the coach fielded questions about his
relationship with Messi. He attempted to brush off the
reports as "rumours" and praised Messi as "the best player
in the world", but there was an unease about his comments.
Bartomeu has called on some of the club's senior players to
act as intermediaries between Messi and Luis Enrique in an
attempt to restore harmony within the ranks, but the
relationship now looks broken beyond repair and Barca are
already looking at possible alternatives to the Asturian
coach.
Following the sacking of Zubizarreta on Monday and the
departure of assistant Puyol, Barca are in disarray off the
pitch. They are also unable to sign players this year due to
their two-window transfer ban enforced for irregularities in
the recruitment of youngsters at La Masia.
The Barca board will discuss all of that, as well as the
relationship between Messi and Luis Enrique, at a special
meeting following these hastily-arranged press conferences
on Wednesday.
That meeting may clear the air temporarily but, regardless
of the player and coach fall-out, it may change the face of
the club - Bartomeu's announcement that he would bring
forward presidential elections set for next year implies that
the discontent could be terminal.
Come next summer there could well be a situation where
none of the above remain at the club. Earlier on
Wednesday, Goal reported that former Barca president Joan
Laporta is plotting a sensational comeback involving the re-
hiring of Pep Guardiola .
That was earmarked for next year but, given the scale of the
current impasse, the old guard could return sooner rather
than later. What is certain is that Barcelona is very much a
club in crisis.

Barcelona is a club in crisis but this write up is definitely more than the crisis the club is facing.

Barca will sack even Fergie to retain the services of Leo,not to talk of a Luis that doesn't know what is what.