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Defender Gerard Piqué has criticized Barcelona for its handling of Lionel Messi’s contractual situation, on the eve of the Clásico against Real Madrid.
Striker Messi applied for a transfer this summer, believing he could leave for free under a clause in his contract.
The club’s all-time top scorer ultimately chose to stay, in part to avoid a possible court case.
“We must preserve our front men, not belittle them,” Piqué told La Vanguardia newspaper.
“It is too controversial. What is happening? Messi deserves everything; the new stadium should have his name first and then the sponsor.”
“I wonder: How can it be that the best player of all time, which we have been lucky enough to enjoy, wakes up one day and sends a Burofax (certified mail) because he feels that he is not being heard?”
The details of a clause in Messi’s contract proved crucial to his situation this summer.
The 33-year-old Argentine says that the fact that he did not tell Barça he wanted to leave before June 10 meant that any prospective club would have to comply with his 700 million euro (624 million pound) buyout clause. , instead of paying any fees.
Messi’s decision to leave came after a disappointing season for Barcelona, which saw him finish second behind Real Madrid in La Liga and humiliatingly fall from the Champions League in the round of 16 thanks to an 8-point loss -2 against Bayern Munich.
They hired Ronald Koeman as their coach and tried to refresh their squad in the summer, but they’ve had an inconsistent start to this campaign, with last weekend’s surprising 1-0 loss to Getafe leaving them ninth in La Liga.
Piqué’s comments come just one day before the first Clásico of the campaign and two days after the 33-year-old center-back signed a new three-year contract at the club. He was sent off near the end of this week’s Champions League win over Ferencvaros.
It is also believed that a motion of censure against the board is imminent, led by President Josep Bartomeu.
Piqué referred to media reports that Bartomeu knew the club had hired a social media agency to criticize the players earlier this year, allegations that Bartomeu denies.
“As a Barça player, I see that my club has spent money, money that they are now asking us (in salary reductions), to criticize us, and I’m not talking about criticizing people outside the club, but current players – it’s atrocious.
“I asked (Bartomeu) for an explanation and he said ‘Gerard, I didn’t know’, and I believed him. But then you see that the person responsible for doing this is still working at the club.
“That hurts me a lot. And I say it here because I already told the president as well.”
