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Lionel Messi insists his commitment to Barcelona is unshaken by recent events off the field.<\/p>\nLionel Messi insists his commitment to Barcelona is unshaken by recent events off the field.<\/p>\n
It has been a turbulent season at Barca, who trail LaLiga leaders Real Madrid by a point, with a recent coaching change sparking an angry exchange between Messi and director of football Eric Abidal.<\/p>\n
That was followed by allegations Barca hired a social media firm to criticize key figures associated with the club in a bid to protect president Josep Maria Bartomeu\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n
Bartomeu denies the claim but Messi said he could \u201csee weird things happening\u201d at the club in a pre-released extract from an interview with Catalan sports publication Mundo Deportivo.<\/p>\n
But in the full interview published on Thursday, the Argentina captain vowed he is going nowhere \u2013 despite the reported existence of a clause in his contract allowing him to leave for nothing this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have said many times that my idea is (to stay) and as long as the club continue to want that, there will never be a problem,\u201d the 32-year-old said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to win another Champions League, I want to continue winning La Liga and I always aspire to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always had the choice, there were many interested clubs willing to pay the release clause, but it never occurred to me to leave and does not now either. I love Barcelona, this is my home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abidal was critical of the Barca squad after Ernesto Valverde was sacked, accusing them of not working hard enough for the former coach.<\/p>\n
Messi, who was close to Valverde, said: \u201cI don\u2019t know what happened to make him say that but I responded because I felt attacked. I felt he was attacking the players.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo much is said about the dressing room, that we force coaching changes or bring in players, and especially about me \u2013 like I have a lot of power and make the decisions. The same happened to me in the Argentine national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt bothered me coming from someone from the club\u2026 to put the players in the middle of the dismissal of the coach seemed crazy. (Abidal) is the one who makes the decisions and has to take charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quique Setien took over from Valverde and Messi admits Barca must adapt to his style of play, including a return to the more intense pressing favored by previous coaches Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going through a process of changing coaches. Each one has his own ideas and little by little we adapt to what he wants,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is true that for many moments in games we play backwards \u2013 that makes people nervous because at any moment the opposition can take it away from us and score a goal. There are other things \u2013 trying to press after losing the ball, things we had lost a little.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a process and we are assimilating. People are disturbed but it is normal with the changes and because we are not playing well either, but you have to be calm and trust until the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Champions League we have to continue growing a lot, because what we have now is not enough to fight for the Champions League. We need to be more reliable, not make the silly mistakes we have made, and not to repeat what happened to us in Rome or Liverpool.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the league, both we and Madrid are inconsistent and have dropped a lot of points. In that sense I think we will be fighting to the end and the league does not end after the Cl\u00e1sico, whatever happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Real have suffered from the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, who left for Juventus in the summer of 2018.<\/p>\n
Messi said: \u201cThey lost a lot of goals, that was obviously going to happen \u2013 but not only goals, Cristiano Ronaldo also gives you many other things.<\/p>\n
\u201cA player who scores 50 goals a season that you no longer have, whether you like it or not, that is noticeable. Madrid have great players, but Cristiano scores 50 goals a season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if he would pass to his long-time rival should they ever play together, Messi joked: \u201cI guess so, in the end yes.\u201d<\/p>\n