Where are they now? The six players Lionel Messi told Barcelona to sell in 2019 | OneFootball

Lionel Messi is the greatest player in Barcelona’s history, but the Argentine wizard had started to grow frustrated with the team around 2019.

After multiple missteps in the transfer market and collapses in Europe, he was keen for the club to have a clear-out in the summer of 2019.

According to reports at the time, he wanted Barcelona to sell six specific players and we’ve checked out where those stars are today.

Ivan Rakitic

Rakitic was an astute signing by Barcelona in 2014 and he played a key role during their treble-winning season under Luis Enrique.

However, by 2019, the Croatian midfielder was a fading force and Messi wanted the club to overhaul their midfield options.

The Croatian ended up staying for one more season before he eventually left in 2020 to return to Sevilla, from whom Barcelona had initially signed him.

He then spent a short stint in Saudi Arabia before ending his professional career with Croatian side Hajduk Split. Nowadays, he still works at the club, but in a technical role.

Philippe Coutinho

After underwhelming during his first two seasons at the club, Messi was already pushing for Coutinho’s exit in 2019.

He did end up leaving that summer, but only on loan. Annoyingly for Barcelona, he rediscovered some form with Bayern Munich and played his role in *that* 8-2 thrashing.

The Brazilian returned to Barcelona the following year but struggled to remain fit before falling further down the pecking order.

Fast forward to 2026 and the 33-year-old is now back in Brazil playing for Vasco da Gama.

Sergi Roberto

Despite Messi’s plea, Roberto ended up outlasting him at Barcelona.

The full-back eventually left in 2024, with over 370 appearances for the club under his belt.

Despite having lucrative offers to move to Saudi Arabia, he instead chose to stay in Europe and now plays for Como in Serie A.

Nelson Semedo

Semedo managed to last one more year at Barcelona before he eventually left the club in 2020, when he joined Wolves.

“It was easy. You just give him the ball and you just have to run and you know that the ball is going to land in front of you,” Semedo said when describing his time alongside Messi.

After a five-year stint with Wolves, the full-back left to join Fenerbahce last summer.

Arthur Melo

Replacing the void left by Andres Iniesta was always going to be next to impossible, regardless of who Barcelona signed.

The Brazilian showcased a few flashes of quality, but it soon became apparent to Messi and those at the club that he wasn’t up to the standard required.

He ultimately left the club in 2020, as part of a deal which saw Miralem Pjanic move in the opposite direction.

These days, he’s still on the books at Juventus, but has spent the last four years out on loan.

He’s currently back in Brazil on loan with Gremio and still has another year and a half to run on his contract with Juventus.

Kevin-Prince Boateng

Boateng was only on loan with Barcelona during the second half of the 2018-19 season, but the club did have the option of making the deal permanent for €8million.

Messi didn’t think the club should have triggered that option and they took his advice as the midfielder left upon his loan spell expiring.

He’s since retired from professional football and now coaches the Australian Socca national team.