For so many years he was invincible on the field, but Lionel Messi showed his vulnerability in Sunday night’s Spanish television interview.
In an hour of in-depth answers to questions as broad as ‘do you know how much a replica shirt costs at the club shop?’ to “Do you think a lot about death and your own funeral?” he exposed his soul and came across as someone who
– Really hates to be portrayed as the club’s petty dictator who picks and chooses who arrives and who leaves.
– Really don’t know what the future holds for him after June, when his contract ends.
– And who is often so overwhelmed by the enormity of his circumstances that his wife has often asked him to seek help to ease the psychological burden.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi showed his vulnerability during his interview with La Sexta
Clearly Messi hates to be portrayed as Barcelona’s petty dictator who has a lot of power
Messi’s wife Antonella Roccuzzo has asked him for advice on many occasions
Messi acknowledged that counseling would be beneficial for him, but he’s not gone yet
“I should have gone, but I never went,” he said of his response to Antonella Roccuzzo’s request.
‘I find it very difficult to take that step, even though I know it is something that I need. They have often insisted that this is what I need. I am someone who keeps everything and does not share anything. I know I need it. I know it would be good for me, but I didn’t. ‘
The honesty of Messi’s response was welcomed on social media.
“It is very healthy for Messi to openly acknowledge that it would be good for him to see a psychologist,” tweeted Spanish broadcaster Anna Punsi. “Not enough thought is given to mental health.”
The Argentinian doesn’t seem to know what the future holds for him after June next year
Jordi Evole, who conducted the interview, posted the clip to social media, tweeting: ‘This confirmation from someone like Leo Messi seems very brave to me. And it shows someone who is very normal. ‘
And normal was how Messi came across most of the hour’s broadcast – he actually got the price of that replica shirt at the on-site club shop and he shocked Evole by saying he had indeed been to his local supermarket on a several times and he wished he could do it more regularly without causing a stir.
So what will he do in June when it comes time to choose whether to stay in Barcelona or move to another league? The feeling that he doesn’t know himself yet was genuine.
Messi says he would like to play in the US someday, adding that he is in touch with Luis Suarez
He revealed that he wants to play in the US one day and in another part of the interview he admitted that he talked to longtime friend Luis Suarez every day since Suarez left Barcelona to join Atletico Madrid.
You can imagine the couple would have agreed that they would take their families to the United States to take an example of life in the US and play their days in the MLS. But it didn’t seem like he was talking about 2021 when he talked about his desire to go to America. It felt like a longer term plan.
He said he had not spoken to any of the presidential candidates and even took a slight insult to interviewer Evole when he felt he doubted the fairness of his answer. The fact that Messi has not spoken to the candidates does not mean, of course, that his father has not had contact with Jorge. Joan Laporta is an old friend, so, as Evole pointed out, it would be strange if there was no contact.
Messi also admitted to speaking with Pep Guardiola, although he was not about to join City at the end of the season. Again it seemed that nothing was being hidden. Messi really doesn’t know.
He showed more grip on reality than some of those in charge of the club, or want to be, and laughed at the suggestion that Neymar might return, pointing out that Barcelona probably didn’t have the money for such an operation.
Messi complained about caretaker president Carles Tusquets’ claim that Barcelona would have been better off financially selling him
“I know the club is in very bad shape,” he said, also lamenting the recent allegation by concierge president Carlos Tusquets that they would have been better off selling Messi in financial terms over the summer. He thought the comments were superfluous and did not become someone whose goal really is to keep a steady hand on the helm until a new president is voted on January 24.
Messi’s main concern seemed to be ruining his Barcelona legacy. He did his best to point out that if he left, it wouldn’t ‘stain’ everything else he had achieved at the club.
Messi’s responses revealed a human weakness that contradicts the ubiquity he displays on the field
He also said he wanted to come back, saying he was attracted to the idea of becoming a football director: ‘Then I’ll really be able to decide who comes and goes,’ he told Evole – that was another dig at that small the contempt of the dictator.
Not a single question confused him – not even the one about death, or about his political loyalty (doesn’t think about it / expresses his views only in his private circle of friends, but wishes everything were less partial) – and every answer showed a human weakness that belies the indestructible ubiquity so often displayed on the field.
That explains why his wife believes a little counseling would help him. It was, as interviewer Evole said, admirable that he admitted that Ms. Messi was probably right about that.