Gerard Pique has put Lionel Messi's imminent departure from Barcelona down to the former board's poor running of the club.
The Catalan giants announced in a shock statement on Thursday that Messi will not be extending his 21-year stay at Camp Nou due to the club's dire financial situation.
Messi, who scored 672 times in 778 appearances for the LaLiga side, is now expected to complete a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite the Argentina international agreeing to take a 50 per cent pay cut, Barcelona were unable to honour the new contract agreed with him due to LaLiga's salary cap limit.
Barca are estimated to be in around €1.2billion of debt, a hangover from the previous Josep Maria Bartomeu regime which spanned from 2014 until 2020 when he was ousted.
Pique has spent the last 13 years playing alongside Messi and believes the situation could have been avoided.
"This has not been one of the best days for us. We have lost the best of all time," Pique said following Barca's 3-0 win over Juventus in Sunday's Joan Gamper Trophy clash at Estadi Johan Cruyff.
"We knew this day would arrive, but the team was still touched, especially those of us who spent many years sharing a dressing room with him.
"The management of recent years has not been the best and that has penalised us."
Messi's name was chanted throughout the prestigious friendly with Juve, with goals from Memphis Depay, Martin Braithwaite and Riqui Puig earning Barca a routine victory.
Ronald Koeman spoke ahead of the game about an exciting future despite the loss of Messi and reiterated after the victory that it is important his side put the saga behind them.
"It is normal that when a player like Messi leaves it will be hard for everyone, but we have to turn the page because we cannot change this situation," he said.
"You have to play well and win, work more. Others can occupy that position and have a leading role. But we will no longer have Leo. We have to turn the page and be hopeful."
Messi's departure could have a knock-on impact for Koeman, with fellow Argentina international Sergio Aguero reportedly looking to leave Camp Nou before kicking a ball.
Aguero was ruled out of Barca's final pre-season outing with a calf problem, but Koeman denied suggestions the striker wants to terminate the contract signed just last month.
"That is not true," Koeman said. "He has signed and is excited. It is a pity that he was injured this morning.
"We have to wait for his recovery. It happened in training. We know that when he is fit he can contribute a lot."
Among a number of positives on the field for Koeman during pre-season has been the form of new signing Depay, who took just three minutes to open the scoring against Juve.
The Netherlands international has three goals in four matches since arriving on a free transfer from Lyon, emphasising Koeman's point of there being life after Messi.
"Memphis showed again today that he can be very effective," Koeman said. "We know we must score more and the squad must improve.
"The best in the world will be missed, but you have to accept it. We are not living in the past. There is a future for this team.
"This result against Juventus was very good and achieved by playing some good football. We have taken another step and will only get better when other players return."
Maya Le Tissier signs new deal with Manchester United
England defender Maya Le Tissier has signed a new contract extension at Manchester United.
The centre-back joined United from Women’s Super League rivals Brighton in July 2022 and has gone on to make 59 appearances.
Her existing contract was due to expire next year but she has pledged her future to United, with the length of the deal not disclosed.
“I’m really happy to sign a contract extension with this great club and look forward to ending the season strong, while continuing to build for the future,” the 22-year-old said on www.manutd.com.
“A big thank you to all our fantastic fans for their great support since I joined, and I’m excited for many more winning moments together.”
Le Tissier, capped three times by England, was an ever-present last season as United reached a maiden FA Cup final and finished second in the WSL to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
She has not missed a game in any competition this season and was last week instrumental in repelling Chelsea as United claimed a shock win to reach the FA Cup final for the second successive campaign.
“Maya has become a real fixture of our team,” United head coach Marc Skinner said. “For her to be playing every single minute like she has, is testament to her.
“We want to make Maya a key feature of our team for many years to come. Maya’s a leader and everybody at the club should be proud that she’s decided to sign for us long term.
“She has the right mentality and the right attitude – and is a perfect role model for the next generation. We look forward to working with her for many winning years to come.”
Jack Grealish: FA Cup semi-final the perfect game to ‘put right’ European exit
Jack Grealish believes Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea gives Manchester City the perfect opportunity to put their Champions League agony behind them.
City’s hopes of successfully defending their European crown – and winning a second successive treble – were shattered on Wednesday as they were beaten by Real Madrid on penalties.
The defeat was particularly galling given that City had dominated the second leg of the quarter-final tie at the Etihad Stadium, but they have little time to dwell on their misfortune.
Attention has immediately shifted to Wembley and a key clash in City’s bid to retain one of the other two trophies they won in glorious fashion last season.
Midfielder Grealish said: “We’ve not been used to losing, especially in the last couple of years. We always knew it was going to be a tough game against one of the best teams in the world.
“It went down to penalties and it’s never nice to go out on penalties. Luckily enough for us we’ve got another game within three days where we can go and put it right.
“Sometimes it’s better when it’s like that. It’s better when you can put it right straight away rather than waiting and dwelling on it for a couple of weeks.
“It’s the perfect game for us to put it right.”
As well as being favourites for the FA Cup, City have put themselves in a strong position to win the Premier League for a fourth year in succession and a sixth time in seven years.
Grealish said: “This year, if we win the Premier League and the FA Cup it would be a hugely successful season. Hopefully we can go on and do that and that’s our aim.”
It has been a frustrating campaign in a personal sense for Grealish, although he has regained form and his place in the side in recent games.
The 28-year-old England international, who excelled in the treble-winning season, struggled to find consistency after an injury in the autumn and was then hindered by further fitness issues.
“It’s been difficult,” he said. “Especially on the back of last year, I had such a good season.
“At the moment, I feel good and I feel confident. At the start of the season, I don’t know, I just didn’t feel like I was playing well really. I didn’t really feel that fit if I’m honest.
“But I feel good now. I feel fit and I feel like I’m playing with good confidence. Hopefully I can bring that into the end of the season.
“We’ve still got a lot to play for. The season is nowhere near over yet. I still feel like I’ve got a big part to play.”
Grealish spoke recently about his determination to repay manager Pep Guardiola for guiding him through his difficult spell and he remains keen to deliver for the City boss.
He said: “I’ve got a really good relationship with him. I’ve said before that he’s the best manager in the world, in my opinion.
“I’ve had my own problems, even off the pitch, and he’s always spoken to me and been there for me.
“Hopefully, I can help him and he can help me towards the end of the season.”
Cole Palmer has nothing to prove to City, says Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino believes Cole Palmer will go into Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City on Saturday with nothing to prove to his former employers, insisting he is the right manager to help the 21-year-old continue his stunning ascendancy.
Palmer, who left Chelsea’s Wembley opponents in a £42.5million deal in the summer, is joint top scorer in the Premier League after his four goals in Monday’s 6-0 demolition of Everton moved him level with City’s Erling Haaland on 20 for the season.
He has netted an incredible seven times in the team’s last two home games, including a hat-trick in the breathless 4-3 win over Manchester United when two of his goals came in the 10th and 11th minutes of stoppage time.
He previously scored from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of added time to snatch a point in a 4-4 draw when City visited west London in November.
Palmer has previously stated his decision to leave the champions – for whom he scored twice in August in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup – was based on the belief he would get more first-team game time at Chelsea.
That decision has been thoroughly vindicated, with his performances for Mauricio Pochettino’s frustratingly inconsistent side placing him in the reckoning for the PFA Player of the Year award.
His odds on winning the award have been slashed by as much as half with some bookmakers since his Everton haul.
But his manager said there was no possibility the England international would face City with an axe to grind.
“It’s his first consistent season playing, we need to be careful because he’s still young, he’s growing,” said Pochettino.
“He’s already played twice (against City) in the Premier League. He’s very grateful for Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola. He always talks very highly of them.
“He’s not the type of player that has something inside (to prove). He understood perfectly that for different reasons he wanted to prove himself in another club.
“He’s not the type of person to wants to prove something against his former club.”
Prior to joining Chelsea, Palmer had played only 19 senior league games spread over three seasons, and had not scored in the Premier League.
Yet he is now a genuine contender to deprive his former team-mate Haaland of the Golden Boot won by the Norwegian last season.
There is also the growing prospect of his being selected in Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.
“He has to absorb the pressure to play in the Premier League consistently,” said Pochettino, who previously enjoyed success at Tottenham stewarding young talents though their early years, including England captain Harry Kane.
“It’s about the demands in his private life. He is top scorer. He maybe needs to pay attention to different things than before. That’s going to have an influence on how he is going to prepare himself, how he’s going to rest and going to sleep, how he spends his energy.
“We need to be careful. We have the experience to manage this type of thing, when a young kid becomes a big star. Why is he not performing in a few months? Because his life has changed. He needs to learn from this experience that is completely different to the past.”
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