Lionel Messi has become one of the important members of the Barcelona set up so much so that there are rumours that he played a crucial role in the arrival of the new Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino.
The Argentine was appointed as the replacement for Tito Vilanova, who announced his resignation after failing to overcome cancer. Argentine ace Messi has become the undisputed number one player in the world over the last few years. However, he has said that he had no input with him to appointing the new manager despite the fact that he is from Argentina.
Martino will be resigning from his current job as the manager of Newell’s Old Boys, which was Messi's first club. Due to this connection, it has been rumoured that Messi played a huge role in his appointment. Newell’s Old Boys managed to win the Argentinian Clausura title last season. The 50-year-old Martino also has international experience as well. He led a relatively understrength Paraguayan team to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2010. He has signed a two-year contract with the Catalan club.
His first job will be to get the best out of Messi like Guardiola and Tito Vilanova have done in the past. The presence of £ 50 million signing Neymar could pose a small threat.
“I have nothing to do with Martino’s signing, nor do I have to give any explanations. It was down to president Sandro Rosell and the club. I said before that he seemed a good coach, but I don’t have to explain anything. I don’t know him personally, I’ve never met him. But I think he’s a good signing. He showed at Newell’s and with Paraguay what he’s capable of and hopefully he’ll be good for us,” said the 26-year-old Argentine ace ahead of the unveiling of Martino.