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Barcelona chief Bartomeu to hold crunch Setien meeting after Messi La Liga rant
Barcelona star Lionel Messi aimed shots at Quique Setien after the club lost out on the La Liga title to Real Madrid.
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Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu will reportedly hold showdown talks with Quique Setien following the club’s failure to win the La Liga title. Real Madrid were crowned champions of Spain on Thursday night on a dramatic night of football. And Lionel Messi was seething afterwards.
Barcelona only hired Setien back in January, choosing to axe Ernesto Valverde shortly after the club’s failure to win the Spanish Super Cup.
But, seven months on, and the 61-year-old is fighting to stay at the Nou Camp.
Barcelona hired Setien because they thought he would bring swashbuckling, attacking football back to the club. Something that Valverde had failed to do.
Yet they’ve now missed out on the La Liga title to fierce rivals Real Madrid, relinquishing the crown after a shock 2-1 defeat to Osasuna.
And, now, Mundo Deportivo say Bartomeu is due to hold crunch talks with Setien.
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It’s said he will do so to gauge the mood of the 61-year-old - but doesn’t plan on sacking him just yet.
Barcelona are unlikely to axe him just yet but the report suggests a change of management could be in place for when they face Napoli in the Champions League in three weeks time.
It’s an open secret that Xavi would be the favourite to replace Setien, with the Barcelona icon working wonders in the Middle East with Al Sadd.
But what ultimately happens remains to be seen.
Messi appeared to aim a dig at Setien in the aftermath of the Osasuna defeat, telling Spanish TV: “We didn’t expect to finish in this way, but it sums up the year for us.
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“We are a weak team who can be beaten with enough intensity and enthusiasm. We have lost a lot of points which we shouldn’t have done [and] been very inconsistent.
“We need to be self-critical, starting with the players but also across the entire club. We are Barcelona, and we are obliged to win every game.
“Roma, Liverpool… the fans are running out of patience because we’re not giving them anything.
“If we want to fight for the Champions League, a lot has to change. Like this, we will lose to Napoli.”
Setien, meanwhile, admitted he was unsure if he’d still be in charge for the game against Napoli.
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"I am responsible for our situation, as I am the manager of the team,” he said.
"I hope we will face the Champions League this summer as a different team, but I am not sure about what happens next for me.
"I agree with the post match comments from Lionel Messi about self-criticism, and we must look at ourselves in the coming weeks."
The Champions League now represents Barcelona’s only chance of winning silverware this season. And for Messi, a player who has scored 23 goals and registered 21 assists this season, the prospect of that is agonising.
He’s not won the trophy since 2015, back when Luis Enrique was manager and Messi had Neymar as his partner in crime up top.
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