Barcelona crisis: Messi Chelsea link is tip of the iceberg

Squad unrest, backroom sackings, shock defeats and a transfer ban – are Barca really 'crumbling'?

Lionel Messi
(Image credit: Lluis Gene / AFP)

News that Barcelona star Lionel Messi has begun following Chelsea on social media site Instagram has prompted talk of a transfer to London in some quarters and howls of derision in others.

But whatever was behind Messi's decision to take a sudden interest in the Blues on the internet there is little doubt that all is not well at the Camp Nou this season amid reports of squad unrest, high-profile departures and defeat to David Moyes's Real Sociedad at the weekend.

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