Lionel Messi’s future in doubt as crisis deepens at Barcelona

Lionel Messi’s future at Barcelona has never looked more uncertain, amid ever-deepening institutional crisis at the Catalan club.

An apparent fallout between Messi and coach Luis Enrique, the firing of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, and yesterday’s calling of a presidential election for next summer mean that — even by Barca standards — recent days have been extra dramatic.

The disagreement between Enrique and Messi was evident after the player was benched for Sunday’s 1-0 La Liga defeat at David Moyes’ Real Sociedad, with stories emerging of rows between star and coach before and after the game.