"Made some monumental mistakes" - Inter Miami new boss Gerardo Martino's quotes on failed Barcelona stint resurface as he reunites with Lionel Messi
New head coach of Lionel Messi's MLS side Inter Miami, Gerardo Martino, once admitted to his stint at Barcelona being a failure. The Argentinian was appointed in the 2013-14 season but failed to win any major silverware. He eventually left the Catalan giants to become Argentina's head coach.
In an interview with Argentinian outlet Clarin, 'Tata' claimed that he was unable to teach Messi anything. He said (via Marca):
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Not to him or to Barca."
"I didn't make any mark on Barcelona. It was a bubble in my career in terms of what I did as a coach. I went to a team that always won and didn't win anything while I was there. The Supercopa is next to nothing for Barcelona.
"All I learned in Barcelona was about being surrounded by stars, by the best in the world."
He then added:
"I made some monumental mistakes with Barcelona. I'll tell you in another life."
Martino struggled with the Catalan giants, mainly because he was unable to manage the big personalities in the team.
His Barcelona side ended up losing the La Liga title to Atletico Madrid on the last day of the season. They were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarterfinal stage. They managed to win just the Spanish Super Cup and Martino was eventually replaced by Luis Enrique.
The 60-year-old is set to reunite with Messi at Inter Miami. They will be joined by Sergio Busquets, with Jordi Alba also a possible candidate to join them in Florida.
Serie A star close to joining Barcelona: Reports
Barcelona are expected to reach an agreement for Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic. According to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, the Croatian will join the Catalan giants on a multi-year contract.
The 30-year-old is expected to sign a deal with €7 million as an initial salary that is expected to rise deeper into his term. The report adds that Xavi played a key role in convincing Brozovic and he is expected to be the successor to Sergio Busquets' role in midfield.
The midfielder was close to joining Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr but is now set to stay in Europe. The report claims that a delegation from the Middle East side met with the player to try and convince him, but the player answered with a definitive 'no'.