Lionel Messi Reportedly Stops Being Friends With Barcelona’s Rising Star Ansu Fati

The Guinea-Bissauan has become the youngest footballer to play for Barcelona and the youngest goalscorer in the history of UEFA’s Champions League. At the age of 17, he scored the winning goal against Inter Milan during a group stage game.

Lionel Messi has allegedly stopped being friends with Barcelona’s rising star Ansu Fati, Diario Gol reported. According to the sports website, the Argentine shut the door on the 17-year-old after the winger parted ways with his manager Rodrigo Messi (Lionel’s brother) and hired one of the most influential agents, Jorge Mendes, whose clients include Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa, and James Rodriguez.

Messi, Diario Gol writes, believes that if it were not for his brother, Ansu Fati wouldn’t have joined Barcelona’s senior team and been given a contract. According to the news portal, Messi has not only stopped being friends with the Guinea-Bissauan, but will also do everything possible so that the club’s new manager Ronald Koeman chooses the club's oldies over Ansu Fati.

However, Diario Gol writes that Barcelona's new manager and other coaching staff have decided to bet on young blood like Ansu Fati and other athletes, as the club is trying to overcome a crisis that led to Barcelona failing to win any trophies in the 2019/2010 football season.

Following his appointment, Koeman reportedly told Lionel Messi that his privileges in the squad were over, which the press claimed prompted Messi to tell the club about his desire to leave. The new manager also allegedly hinted that other players who are in their thirties, like forward Luis Suarez, won’t play central roles in the team that he is trying to build.