Ronald Koeman gives verdict on Lionel Messi after former coach called him “unwieldy”

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has dismissed claims by his predecessor Quique Setien that Lionel Messi is “difficult to handle”.

Setién spent a brief and largely unhappy time in charge of the Catalan giants from January to August, and was fired following the team’s humiliation 8-2 in last season’s Champions League quarterfinals against Bayern de Munich.

One of his main problems was an apparent inability to connect with the club’s talisman Messi, and in a recent interview with The country Setien lifted the lid on his relationship with the player.

“Leo is difficult to handle,” he said. Who am I to change it! If they have accepted it as it is for years and have not changed it.

“There is another facet beyond the player and he is more difficult to handle. Much more difficult. He is very reserved but he makes you see the things he wants. He doesn’t talk much.”

However, speaking before his team’s Champions League game against Dynamo Kyiv, Koeman insisted that he had not experienced any of the problems with Messi that Setien spoke of.

“For me, Leo is a very good player, the best in the world,” Koeman said.

“Every day I see his ambition and his winning mentality. I have no difficulty getting along with him.

“For me, he is the captain. I talk to him every week about things on the field and in the locker room.

“I don’t agree with that, but I respect Setien. If he thinks like that, it will be like that for him.”

Barcelona are on a losing streak in La Liga, having accumulated just two points in their last four games, but so far they have won both of their Champions League matches and would be in a solid position to qualify for the knockout stages with the victory. from Kiev on Wednesday.

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