Former Mamelodi Sundowns boss Hristo Stoichkov has made a bold claim about Lionel Messi's future, and revealed how he once got Ronaldo Nazario into trouble at FC Barcelona.
Stoichkov, who was in charge of Masandawana between 2009 and 2010, recently spoke to RadioMarca to promote his autobiography, and insisted that Messi will not be leaving the Catalan giants at the end of the season, as many expect.
"I think Messi is going to retire at Barcelona," he said.
"There has been a lot of talk about him, but I don't believe 99.9% of it."
The Barcelona captain wanted to activate a clause in his contract that he thought would allow him to leave the Blaugrana in the most recent transfer window, but had to stay after then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu refused to let him to depart for free.
Stoichkov, meanwhile, also recalled how he got Ronaldo into trouble when he joined the LaLiga club in 1996.
"The first day that Ronaldo arrived, he asked me if we had training the next day," he explained.
"I lied to him; I said no and he had to pay for a meal for all the players."
The former Downs coach himself had two playing stints at the Camp Nou, and lifted 13 trophies with the Catalan giants.
