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Antonine Griezmann’s former adviser has made a withering assessment of Lionel Messi’s “deplorable” influence in Barcelona, accusing him of overseeing “a regime of terror.”
Griezmann had been a long-term goal of Barcelona when he arrived at Camp Nou in 2019 in a £ 107 million transfer from Atlético Madrid.
But Eric Olhats claims Griezmann was greeted with starman scorn in Barcelona and claims Messi did everything he could to unsettle the Frenchman. Olhats also dismissed Messi’s push to leave in the summer, saying it was another way for the forward to exert his power over the club.
Speaking to French football, Olhats said: ‘Antoine came to a club in difficulties where Messi has a vision for everything.
He is both emperor and monarch, and he did not see Antoine’s arrival with a good eye. His attitude has been deplorable, it made him feel that. I have always heard Antoine say that there is no problem with Messi, but never the other way around. It is the regime of terror. Either you are with him or you are against him.
In my opinion, Messi said he wanted to leave to see what role he still had as a decision-making player, in terms of the players who came and those who left, but he ultimately stayed. Classic Messi!
‘(He is) as good on the field as he is bad off it. Barcelona has been suffering for a while. There was cancer in that club, and obviously it leaves some marks. ‘
Griezmann endured an indifferent first year at Barcelona after his departure from Atlético. He scored 15 goals in 48 games in a campaign that ended in disarray with a shocking 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The 2019-20 campaign saw Ernesto Valverde, the coach who hired him, replaced mid-season by Quique Setien before Setien was fired after Bayern’s defeat in favor of Ronald Koeman.
There has been even more turbulence at the club this season with the resignation of President Josep Bartomeu amid the financial crisis that has gripped the club.
“It is the club that is sick, not him,” Olhats said. “Last year, when Antoine arrived, Messi didn’t speak to him, he didn’t pass the ball to him.
“It created a real trauma by a more than negative adaptation. That clearly left its mark. It was clear and visible. To this we must add that the president resigned, the club conceded eight against Bayern and three different coaches … conditions are not good ”.
Olhats left his advisory role to Griezmann in 2017 to focus on his work as a scout.
Griezmann has scored two goals in eight games this season with Koeman, including one in a 5-2 win over Real Betis on Saturday.
Barcelona is eighth in LaLiga with 11 points from seven games. Griezmann is currently in international service with France, who have upcoming matches against Finland, Portugal and Sweden.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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