"Everything he touches turns to gold" - Pundit wants Lionel Messi to become Barcelona's next manager
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes Barcelona should make Lionel Messi their next manager.
Messi is a bonafide Barca legend, scoring 672 goals in 778 senior appearances and winning 35 trophies during his 21-year stay in Catalonia. However, he was forced to leave Barcelona as a free agent in the summer of 2021 after the financially-troubled club were unable to onboard his wages.
After two years at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Messi moved to Inter Miami last summer, where he has since registered 11 goals and five assists in 14 appearances. Barcelona, meanwhile, find themselves in a bit of an uncertain situation at the moment.
Placed fourth in LaLiga after 22 games, the club know they need a new manager this summer. Xavi Hernandez recently came out and confirmed that he will leave Barca at the end of the current season.
The club are yet to announce a replacement and Murphy thinks Messi would be the ideal candidate to take over the reins from Xavi. The English pundit told talkSPORT (h/t SI.com):
"I'd give it to Messi. The fans are on board straight away. Everything he touches turns to gold. He was put on this earth to do amazing things. It's not going to stop in management."
Barcelona had a tumultuous January, where they lost the Supercopa de Espana final to Real Madrid (4-1) and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey quarterfinals by Athletic Bilbao (4-2). Xavi doesn't seem to have the same backing from the fans as he did last season, when the Catalan giants won LaLiga and the Supercopa de Espana.
Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick, and Barcelona Atletic manager Rafael Marquez have been touted as potential replacements.
What has Barcelona legend Lionel Messi said about his career post-retirement?
Although the player has made no such comments, many see Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami as a sign that he is slowly heading towards retirement from club football.
The 36-year-old is nevertheless still going strong for club and country despite winning every trophy the sport has to offer. His eighth Ballon d'Or award, won in October 2023, just goes to show that he is still among the very best players in the world.
However, no matter how good he may be right now, there will come a time when Messi will retire from the sport. Speaking to Latin American television network Star+ in 2022, he shed light on what path his career could take in such a situation.
Messi said, via comments carried by the Mirror in October 2022:
"I don't really intend to be a coach, but [former Real Madrid manager Zinedine] Zidane said exactly that and, after that, he became a coach and won Champions League 3 times. I like sporting director, team building, accompanying coaches, but I'm not entirely sure, either."
Messi's current contract at Inter Miami doesn't expire before December 2025.