The Catalan giants find themselves in financial difficulty following the coronavirus pandemic, with Messi’s hefty pay packet contributing to the club’s eye watering wage bill.
The Argentinian was also the subject of criticism from Antoine Griezmann’s former agent Eric Olhats, who appeared to blame Messi for the French forward’s slow start to life at Barcelona.
Olhats told France Football [via Mundo Deportivo]: “Antoine arrived at a club with serious problems where Messi controls everything. He is both emperor and monarch and did not see Antoine’s arrival with good eyes.
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“Messi’s attitude has been deplorable, he has made him feel it. I’ve always heard Antoine say that he had no problems with Messi, but never the other way around. It is the regime of terror. Either you are with him, or you are against him.”
Messi returned from international duty on Wednesday – fresh from registering a record breaking 85th win with Argentina – and told journalists at the airport [via Football Espana]:
“I’m tired of always being the problem for everything at the club.”
?️ “Estoy un poco cansado de ser el problema de todo en el club”pic.twitter.com/tiaVi81D4D
— El Larguero (@ellarguero) November 18, 2020
The 33-year-old attempted to force a move away from the club during the 2020 transfer window, but was unable to do so due to his €700m buyout clause.
However, his contract expires in the summer of 2021, and although Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has consistently insisted he is keen for the player to stay, and former president Josep Maria Bartomeu – with whom Messi did not see eye to eye – has departed, his future remains unclear.
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