FC Barcelona has been left upset when their former captain and club legend joined Inter Miami during the current transfer window. Lionel Messi left PSG as a free agent and was linked to his former club, before joining the Ligue 1 side. But speculation ended when he chose to join the MLS. According to reports, Barcelona couldn’t afford his salary and he refused to have the club cut the salaries of other players to make room for him.
Former Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman forecast the situation when he indicated that Messi would not return to the Catalan club this summer. Messi has been joined by another former Barcelona captain, Sergio Busquets and might be joined by Jordi Alba.
The Dutchman responded to Messi’s decision to join Inter Miami during the opening of the Ronald Koeman Cup, a charity golf event. He said, “The situation is totally different than two years ago with Messi. It was a big mistake to let him leave. I always hoped that he would stay at Barça for the rest of his life, it was a big mistake to let him go.”
Furthermore, Koeman slammed Barcelona’s transfer policy, but he also praised their most recent signing Ilkay Gundogan.”There is no need to discuss a signing like Gundogan, he is a great player and a great professional like Lewandowski, but it is only for a short time because they are of a certain age. You can’t sign two or three players of this type every season, you have to work for the future. Signing a 22-year-old is better for the future than signing a 33 or 34-year-old,” he said.
He added, “I like Gündogan because he is a great player but it is a moment, I think, for a club that has to look to the future, that there are young people and the structure of the club has to be for the next years. For Lewandowski, you can argue, and with other players, but it’s only for two or three years.”