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Messi and Piqué have won many trophies together at Barça, including eight La Liga titles
Gerard Piqué has criticized Barcelona for their 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.”
‘Griezmann has a chance to play’
There are doubts about the physical condition of forward Antoine Griezmann, who was left on the bench in Barça’s victory over Ferencvaros.
It was unclear whether the Frenchman had fallen or rested for the 5-1 victory.
“He has a chance to play,” Koeman said. “But it’s not good to talk about his role in every game.”
Jordi Alba has been included in the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury but it remains to be seen if the left-back is ready to start.
“Always the last word is with the player,” Koeman said. “If there is no reaction, he has a good chance of playing tomorrow.”
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said defender Sergio Ramos will be available to face Barcelona after recovering from the knee injury that kept him out of the loss to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
“Sergio is our captain, our leader,” Zidane said. “He’s recovered, he’s going to be with us. It’s about being one hundred percent and I think Sergio is already there.”
Zidane insists that he has Real support
Zidane also insisted that he has the full support of Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, and asked his players to change their season by beating Barça on Saturday.
Madrid and their coach head to the Camp Nou under pressure after consecutive losses to Cádiz in La Liga and Shakhtar in the Champions League.
Asked if he still feels the support of the club and the president, Zidane replied: “Yes, everyone. I have won many things with these players and I will always be with them until death.
“But we have to change our momentum, we have had two difficult games, and that’s what it’s about.
“There are always bad moments, but there are teams in those moments that show their character and quality. We have to do it tomorrow.”
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Source: bbc.com
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