With only two months to go until Barcelona announce their new president, the prospective candidates are already jostling for position.
Soundbites and interviews given now are likely to play a large part in how candidates are perceived by Barca’s hard-to-please membership.
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Given just how poorly things have been managed during Josep Maria Bartomeu’s tenure, the new man in charge has to get the tone exactly right, and represent the views of the majority of Barcelona fans.
Despite not having his best season, Lionel Messi still remains an integral part of everything his team does, and to that end, he has to remain a fixture in the first team.
However, Toni Freixa isn’t bothered whether the Argentinian stays or goes, potentially to Man City, with whom he has been linked with by the Mirror and others, more so since Pep Guardiola has extended his contract at the Etihad Stadium.
“The most important thing about Barca is Barca itself,” Freixa said to Mundo Deportivo.
“We are not dependent on anyone in particular. I hope Messi does not go away but it is not something that takes my sleep away.”
If he’s looking to win over the doubters, Freixa is certainly going an odd way about it.
With views such as the one above, another presidential defeat is almost certainly already staring him in the face.
City fans will no doubt be keeping an eye on this as it may give them a boost in terms of bringing Messi to the Etihad Stadium in the near future.