Liverpool’s Barcelona approach, Messi’s transfer U-turn and Koeman’s worry

Barcelona are one of the biggest clubs in world football.

So it goes without saying that there is a lot of transfer activity surrounding the Catalan giants, both positive and negative, likely and unlikely.

Lionel Messi's future was up in the air in the summer when he made it clear he wanted to finally leave Barcelona.

The La Liga giants dug their heels in and kept hold of the Argentine, and although he was never going to leave this January, Barcelona have another battle to keep him on the horizon, when the season comes to a close.

Here are three talking points relating to Barcelona's transfer activity.

Liverpool make Barcelona approach

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool were in the market for a new centre-back throughout the January transfer window.

But the Reds were only given the green light to splash the cash once it was discovered that Joel Matip's injury is worse than first feared.

Liverpool looked at a number of defenders, including; Duje Caleta-Car, Ben Davies, Ozan Kabak, Shkodran Mustafi and Sven Botman.

And according to The Athletic, the Anfield giants also considered a swoop for Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti.

The French defender has fallen down the pecking order at the Camp Nou, and has made only six appearances in all competitions this season.

But despite being overlooked by Ronald Koeman, Umtiti was reportedly reluctant to leave Barcelona for Liverpool, and wanted to stay put.

Lionel Messi makes transfer U-turn?

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi was in the middle of an increasingly bitter fight with Barcelona before a ball was even kicked this season.

The Argentine was at odds with former boss Quique Setien's tactics and had decided that his time at the club had come to an end and that he wanted out.

He eventually spoke to Setien about his concerns, and is alleged to have urged the Spaniard to listen to the more experienced players in the dressing room.

Setien is said to have responded to Messi: "If you don't like what I said, you know where the door is," which prompted Messi to laugh.

Barcelona eventually wielded the axe on Setien following a poor season, in which the Catalan Giants were thumped 8-2 by Bayern Munich and lost La Liga to Real Madrid.

Messi, meanwhile, sent Barcelona a document expressing his desire to leave.

Barcelona quickly made it clear to all potential suitors that Messi has an active £600million buyout clause in his contract.

The Argentine's father and agent Jorge responded by releasing a statement claiming the release clause "is not valid when the termination of the contract is by the player's unilateral decision from the end of the 2019–20 season".

La Liga were then called upon to get involved in the debate, and rejected this claim, issuing a statement of their own saying the clause is active.

Messi was faced with taking Barcelona to court but decided to see out the remainder of his contract, which expires at the end of this season.

He said: "I wasn't happy and I wanted to leave. I have not been allowed this in any way and I will stay at the club so as not to get into a legal dispute. The management of the club led by [Josep] Bartomeuis a disaster. My love for Barca will never change."

Shortly after the Messi saga, Bartomeu and the Barcelona board resigned from their posts following a vote of no confidence.

Barcelona legend Ronald Koeman was brought in as Setien's replacement, and Messi was given a new lease of live under the Dutchman.

So much so, in fact, that it now appears the Argentine may have U-turned on his decision.

Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta is among those who are adamant that Messi wants to remain at the club beyond this season.

"Messi is now totally focused on catching Atletico Madrid in La Liga and playing the Paris Saint-Germain tie in the Champions League," Laporta said.

"I do not know if he will be playing on Sunday [in the Supercopa de Espana final] but he will be on the bench and it is important that Leo encourage his team-mates.

"I see him more and more happy, he is enjoying it.

"I know that he wants to stay and I know that he will do everything in his power to stay as long as the club can offer him an offer that suits him."

Ronald Koeman not overly confident

While it's a lot more likely that Messi will remain at Barcelona beyond this season, it's certainly not a foregone conclusion.

In an interview with The Athletic, Koeman opened up on the conversation he had with the Argentine ahead of the season as he tried to influence his long-term decision to stay.

"I said to Leo, 'I'm really happy if you stay. If you don't stay, it's your decision and it's what you have to handle with the club," said Koeman.

"If you stay, you will be part of the team and this will be your position to get all the best out of yourself'. Little by little, he accepted that situation.

"And look how he is playing in the last few weeks, he is really involved in the club, in the team. But, nobody knows what will happen in the future."

Koeman believes Messi is happy playing for Barcelona once again, but by his own admission can't rule out that the Argentine will leave at the end of the season.

Mauricio Pochettino and Paris Saint-Germain have made it very clear they'd like to snap up the forward when his contract expires.

And Messi would no doubt like the chance to test himself in France alongside his good friend and fellow team-mate Neymar, who joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017.

"I'm not confident about that," added Koeman. "I'm hopeful, yes, about this because he's still a great player and he's still winning matches for us, for the team.

"I'm enjoying being his coach, if you look at his qualities every day in the training sessions, it's incredible. Of course, he came as a young kid to Barcelona.

"And I still don't see Leo Messi in another shirt other than the Barca shirt."

Will Lionel Messi leave Barcelona at the end of the season? Have your say here.

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