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MADRID. — Barcelona’s board have moved to calm fears that Lionel Messi will be sold after the World Cup but have been left in no doubt by supporters that the sale of Cesc Fabregas would not be met with opposition.
Fabregas was jeered onto the pitch when he replaced Xavi with 20 minutes left of Barcelona’s league game with Athletic Bilbao at the weekend and just over 80 per cent of over 13 000 supporters voting on Diario Sport’s online poll said the club should cash in if the right offer comes in.
Asked about the boos for Fabregas, coach Gerardo Martino said after Sunday’s game: “All I can say is Cesc is someone who has never hidden. He always wants to play and he is someone who has no fear.”
Team-mate Andres Iniesta added: “Let’s hope it was just an isolated incident. I don’t think the supporters have anything personal against Cesc.”
Messi appeared not to celebrate scoring Barcelona’s winning goal but will have been buoyed by positive noises being made by the club’s president Josep Bartomeu who said: “He has always led the team and we have not doubts he will continue to lead us. He is the best in the world and we want to renew his contract in accordance with that fact.”
Messi is understood to want 25m euros a year but the club are pushing for a change in the player’s image rights agreement to help them meet the demands.
In what has been described as one of his worst ever seasons Messi is now just two goals short of La Liga’s top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo is the current top earner in La Liga with an estimated take home pay of 21m euros a year but Real Madrid take around 45 percent of the players image rights — a position not enjoyed by Barcelona in relation to Messi’s commercial earnings. — Mailonline.
Online Reporter