Barcelona presidential candidate Emili Rousaud claims Lionel Messi will have to take a pay cut or leave the club

Lionel Messi has experienced a difficult start to the new campaign under Ronald Koeman. Barcelona are currently eighth in the La Liga table after the first 11 games and have already lost four times in the league. The Spanish giants lost six games in the entirety of the 2019/20 domestic campaign and just three in the 2018/19 season. That perhaps indicates that all is not well at the Camp Nou at the moment. Lionel Messi has not been his prolific self this season, scoring only eight goals in 15 games in all competitions. However, he continues to be indispensable to the Catalans. Messi scored the winner against Levante over the weekend as the Blaugrana failed to impress as a unit again. Although Rousaud claimed that the club will make every attempt to ensure that Messi stays, he also stated that Barcelona are ready for a future without the six-time Ballon d’Or winner if required.

Barcelona will make every effort to ensure Lionel Messi stays, says Rousaud

Ahead of the Barcelona presidential election scheduled for the 24th of January, Rousaud discussed Lionel Messi’s future and talked about how the coronavirus pandemic had impacted the club. Rousaud revealed that the club would sit down with the Argentine and request him to take a pay cut to help Barcelona deal with the coronavirus's impact. He also claimed that unless the Barcelona skipper agreed to a pay cut, he would have to leave the Camp Nou.

"We'll have to sit down with Messi and ask him to make a salary cut. Right now, with things as they are, it's unsustainable. We'll ask him to make the sacrifice. If there's no agreement, then Messi will leave."

"Messi has written the most brilliant pages in the club's history. We have to honor our legends, but the reality is what it is."

Rousaud was adamant that Barcelona would leave no stone unturned to ensure Lionel Messi stays but reiterated that the interests of the club came first.

"I believe that things have to be said as they are. We can't fool our members. We'll make every effort to ensure he stays, but always with the interests of the club first."

Given the indifferent form and body language we've see from Lionel Messi so far this season, it wouldn't be a shock to see him walk away from his boyhood club in the summer.