Luis Enrique: "We're not considering the future without Messi"

Posted Thursday, January 15, 2015 by Marca.com

Luis Enrique:

While maintaining his philosophy of "not feeding controversies" with respect to events in the dressing room, Luis Enrique has expressed his conviction that Leo Messi will remain at Barcelona next season.

"We all think that Leo Messi is going to be here for many years to come. That's what all of us at Barça want. We're not even considering the future without him", he remarked.

The coach was tight-lipped in response to questions about all of the strife surrounding Barcelona, repeatedly responding, "I don't want to feed controversies."

Nevertheless, Enrique did say that the dressing room is "united", although he did not specify what this unity between the players and the coaching staff consists of.

"We're ignoring all the rumours and looking for the best possible atmosphere. That's what we're looking for and that's what we have in there", he added.

Sticking strictly to football, Enrique defended his rotation policy: "As the games go by and we come to the business end of the season, I'll have players available to me. We'll see if that is reflected in the results. Having more players available gives me more options when picking the team."

Barcelona are facing a busy January packed with games, but the manager does not believe it will decide the league title: "There are good teams out there and it will be tough for one club to win everything. The important thing is to capitalise on slip-ups by our rivals."