India captain Sunil Chhetri was all praise for Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi after the Argentine turned it on once again in the UEFA Champions League to help his side stroll past Napoli in their Round of 16 fixture.
“Messi,” tweeted Chhetri with three folded hands emojis right after the Barcelona captain scored an outrageous goal in the 23rd minute to make it 3-1 in his team’s favour. “Stayed late after ages to watch live football – completely worth,” he tweeted later.
The second leg that was played at Camp Nou started at 1-1 with Barca having the away goal advantage. Defender Clement Lenglet took advantage of some poor marking to head in from Ivan Rakitic’s corner and gave Barcelona the outright lead.
Messi in the 23rd minute got the ball in the right hand corner of Napoli’s penalty area, wriggled past three defenders and then lost his balance for a moment. He however picked himself up and managed to curl the ball into the far corner. He doubled their lead seven minutes later but the goal was disallowed by VAR.
Luis Suarez made it 3-1 on the night with a penalty while Lorenzo Insigne pulled one back for Napoli with another penalty. Both goals came in stoppage time of the first half as the second half was goalless.
Meanwhile, Barcelona FC President Josep Maria Bartomeu on August 6 last once again insisted that talismanic forward Lionel Messi will stay at the club beyond his current contract. There is speculation that the record six-time Ballon d’Or winner is unhappy with the club’s leadership.
It was earlier reported by Gazzetta dello Sport that Inter’s owners are willing to table an outrageous four-year contract offer that would see Messi earn 50 million euros net a year. Messi’s current contract runs through to June 2021 at the end of which he can leave the club for free.
Bartomeu, however, has played down speculations and stated Messi wants to finish his career at Barcelona. He insisted that the Argentine has told him about his future at the club.
“It’s not just me who says it, Messi says it himself,’ Bartomeu told beIN SPORTS. “He wants to finish his professional playing career at Barcelona and it’s the only club for him.
“I don’t have any doubt that when he finishes his football career in three or four years it will be here at Barcelona.Messi has it very clear. He’s been here since he was a kid, he knows the colours and is a part of the club’s history.He is the best player in the world. Not just right now, but in the history of the game. He’s at Barcelona and has made clear he wants to stay here.”
