Barcelona signing in 2009 left Lionel Messi worried about his future at the club: Reports
Lionel Messi reportedly felt that he was no longer valued by Barcelona after the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2009, according to reports. The legendary forward expressed his concerns to then-manager Pep Guardiola.
According to Sebastian Fest and Alex Juillard, who wrote The Messi Mystery, Messi sent a message to Guardiola saying:
"I can see that I am no longer important to the team, so..."
🗣️ Zlatan Ibrahimovic: "If they had given me Ballon d'or any year, I'd go to Messi the next day and give it to him." https://t.co/8vdKihEEWU
At the time, Ibrahimovic was one of the best strikers in the world, and his arrival at Barcelona may have caused concern for Lionel Messi. La Pulga was gradually transitioning from playing mainly on the wings to a more central role on the pitch, which was the Swede's major position.
It also did not help that Lionel Messi was struggling with a difficult start to the 2009/2010 season, which may have added to his fears about being replaced.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: “I think it's already written who will win, and you know who I mean. I think Messi will lift the trophy, it's already written.” https://t.co/3jDMTHg8vs
Despite these concerns, Messi did not attempt to leave Barcelona, where he went on to become a legend. The forward outlasted Ibrahimovic at the Nou Camp, with Guardiola preferring to utilize Messi as the central player in Barcelona's attack.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was not happy about Guardiola using Lionel Messi as Barcelona's central attacker
Ibrahimovic spent just one season (2009-10) at Barca, where he scored a remarkable 21 goals in 45 appearances. At the start of the next season, he went off on loan to AC Milan, unable to continue playing for Pep Guardiola, who had opted to play the towering forward on the wing.
In his book I am Zlatan, the 41-year-old explained the events that took place in 2009 that led to Messi playing centrally for Barca:
"Messi started saying things. Lionel Messi is amazing. He’s totally amazing. He joined Barca when he was 13. He was brought up in that culture and doesn't have a problem with that school crap. But now I was there, and I was scoring more goals than him."
Ibrahimovic continued:
"He went to Guardiola and said: 'I don't want to be on the right-wing any more, I want to play in the centre.' I was the striker. Guardiola didn't give a damn about that, though. He changed the tactical formation. Guardiola had to listen to him. But I mean, come on, I had scored loads of goals at Barca and I'd been pretty awesome as well."