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Lionel Messi says he is fed up with being blamed for Barcelona’s troubles after Antoine Griezmann’s former agent accused him of having a “regime of terror” at the club.
Messi, 33, was greeted by a group of journalists at Barcelona’s El Prat airport on Wednesday upon his return from international service with Argentina.
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A journalist asked him what he thought about Eric Olhats’ claim last week that he had too much control at Barca and had not helped to accommodate Griezmann at the club.
“I’m tired of always being the problem with everything that happens at this club,” Messi replied.
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Griezmann has always maintained that his relationship with Messi is good and sources close to the French international say that years have passed since he spoke with Olhats.
The two combined to good effect on the field in Barça’s last game before the international break, with Messi’s dead preparing a goal for Griezmann.
But Messi’s latest comments will only increase speculation that he could leave Barca when his contract ends next summer.
The Argentine forward wanted to leave in August after the 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich, and sources told ESPN that Manchester City had made a deal, but Barca would not let him go.
In September, Messi, who has been at Barça for 20 years, said his main problem was with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his management of the club in recent years.
However, Bartomeu resigned in October, paving the way for his successor to start talks with Messi about a new deal.
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A new president will not be elected until the end of January and his first task will be to convince Messi that they can build a winning team around him for the final years of his career.
As things stand, Messi will be able to negotiate a pre-contract with any club in January and will be able to leave for free next June.
“When you are lucky enough to have the best player in the world on your team, you need to retain that talent,” Victor Font, one of the presidential candidates, said in an interview with Reuters this week.
“If Messi goes to a competitor we will not find an alternative easily, since there is no alternative to Messi. That is why it is essential to retain him in the short term.”
Messi returned to Spain on Wednesday after Argentina’s draw with Paraguay and beat Peru in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
He will return to training with Barça on Thursday before Saturday’s game against undefeated Atlético de Madrid, who will be without his close friend and former teammate Luis Suárez after testing positive for coronavirus.
Source: espn.co.uk
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