Former Barcelona right-back Dani Alves believes that Barcelona star Lionel Messi is growing frustrated with the fact that he consistently has to lift the team.
The Argentine's exasperation came to the fore on Thursday night as he did the post-match interview after Barcelona's 2-1 defeat at home to Osasuna, which came on a night that Real Madrid became LaLiga Santander champions.
"He's a born winner, he doesn't like to lose and it's normal to get angry," Alves told Catalunya Radio.
"He wants to win every time, like me.
"He's been doing it for so long that you can tell when your team is giving [that feeling] and when it's not.
"That's why he said it, he's been at Barcelona for many years and he's aware of what he needs to be able to win and aspire to great things.
"He sees, what I feel, and that's a lack of support.
"Messi was the main course, but we were the perfect ingredients [in the past].
"He always wants to be on top and you need people to build that.
"The feeling now is that he always has to be doing everything for the team and he's only human."
So, does the Brazilian think that Messi could leave?
"No, I don't think so," Alves responded.
"He's the face of this club, of this team and it would be the biggest mistake the club would ever make [if he left].
"It would be a mistake for such a player not to retire there and change the name of Camp Nou to Leo Messi."
Neymar has been strongly linked with a return to Barcelona in the last couple of summers, and Alves admitted to trying to convince his compatriot to join the Catalan side once again.
"The only one I've tried to convince is Neymar to go to Barcelona," he explained.
"He had a very big offer from Real Madrid, and I told him that if he wanted to be happy he should come to Barcelona.
"It's the only time I've ever convinced anyone of anything.
"If I were him, I would come back without thinking about it.
"I never think that people make mistakes when they make a decision.
"Everyone knows that Ney can help Barcelona, Messi and the club to become a giant again in LaLiga, in Europe... and football is becoming more and more balanced.
"The team has 11 and with Messi you have 13.
"The team has 11 and with Neymar you have 13."
The 37-year-old departed in 2016 as he joined Juventus on a free, but he is not happy about the way his exit was handled.
"I'm not a selfish, spiteful person," Alves stated.
"Of course I miss Barcelona, and I always will, because it's my home.
"The other day I said to my people that I was at Barcelona for eight years and I basically left out the back door.
"That bittersweet taste of asking you what else there is to do remains.
"I felt hurt at the time because I was doing so much at Barcelona and they didn't want to give me a new contract.
"I had just had my best season. I did not feel valued.
"Real Madrid, and other teams, offered me double and I decided to go to Barcelona [when I left Sevilla]; I wanted to have the right to make the decision to leave [when the time finally arrived].
"I wanted to go out the front door.
"I was left with this situation that I didn't like.
"I'm not bitter, I'm a pure and clean soul.
"When I left, as I said on another occasion, my thought was to go and prove my worth elsewhere and then come back.
"That's why I dedicated myself double and even triple."
Alves ended up spending just one year at Juventus as he made the move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, again on a free, but there was some talk that he could have returned to Barcelona in the last few years, so was it true?
"Things were being talked about, but nothing ever came of it," Alves confirmed.
"I'm not bitter, but they are anyway [laughs]."
Xavi Hernandez has been strongly tipped to take charge at Barcelona, most likely depending on the results of the presidential elections in 2021, and Alves is excited about the Blaugrana's future is his former teammate takes charge.
"It will be Barcelona's 3.0 version," he noted.
"A team is not just 11, it's not just a coach... it's the conjugation of all those verbs.
"That's how you make a great team invincible: when it's in tune."
Bale appears to be on his way out of Madrid this summer, with Newcastle United having been linked with a move for the Wales international if a proposed Saudi-led takeover of the club is approved.
