There’s never a dull day at Barcelona according to Diario AS. The blaugrana recorded a marvellous 5-3 victory at Granada to secure their place in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday evening, but at the same time things were happening in France that would anger the Catalans.
Angel di Maria, Lionel Messi‘s compatriot, talked up the chances of his Argentina teammate coming to play with him at Paris Saint-Germain next season. Messi’s contract with Barcelona ends on 30 June, and it’s as of yet unclear what the great man is going to do.
Di Maria’s comments reached the ears of Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman, and the Dutchman was none too pleased. He accused Di Maria and PSG of lacking respect, talking incessantly about a player contracted to Barcelona. To make matters worse, Barcelona face PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League.
As well as Di Maria, sporting director Leonardo has been on record of his admiration for Messi, revealing that there’ll always be a place for him at PSG. Mauricio Pochettino, a fellow Argentine, has also been vocal in his desire to bring Messi to Paris, as have one of his best friends and former teammates, Neymar.
Koeman has been joined in his rebuke by Joan Laporta, the favourite to become Barcelona’s next president in the elections scheduled to take place on March 7th. The battle, far from cooling down, looks set to become even more fierce.