It has been revealed that Barcelona superstar, Lionel Messi was so worried about losing his spot when Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined the club in 2008/09.
Messi, according to the report, had to message manager Pep Guardiola about his position.
Guardiola, then Barca manager, signed Ibrahimovic from Inter, with Cameroon legend, Samuel Eto’o moving in the opposite direction.
However, Ibrahimovic lasted just one season in Catalunya before moving back to Italy to join AC Milan.
The Swede’s arrival at Camp Nou worried Messi, who complained to the manager that his spot for Barca was no longer secure.
A book, ‘The Messi Mystery’ written by Sebastian Fest and Alex Juillard, explains that the arrival of Ibrahimovic forced Messi into messaging manager Guardiola.
According to the book, the message said in not exact words, “I can see that I am no longer important to the team, so…,” and was sent to Guardiola.
Then Messi was not the great player he later became, although he was already developing into one of the best in the world.
That season was his fourth in Barca and the book added, “Messi had failed to shine in a few games and Ibrahimovic was playing well. Suddenly, there were complications for the Argentine.”
It was not so long Ibrahimovic was no longer the main man and started playing second fiddle to the Argentine.
The manager then moved Messi from the wing to a midfield role, with Ibrahimovic having to play out wide instead, and he (Messi) went on to 47 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions while the Swede scored 21 goals in 45 appearances.
Ibrahimovic later left Barca and returned to AC Milan, first on loan, and then moved to France, England, the US and now back to AC Milan.
Messi on the other hand has remained in Barcelona winning the Ballon d’Or for 6 times. However, he is yet to renew his contract which expires at the end of the season.
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