Lionel Messi ‘tired’ of being blamed for Barcelona’s problems after Antoine Griezmann’s agent outburst
Argentine forward hit back at comments from Griezmann’s agent Eric Olhats after being accused of operating a ‘reign of terror’ at the Nou Camp
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Lionel Messi has expressed his frustration with being blamed for the problems at Barcelona in a rare outburst against the Spanish club, which follows his failed attempt to leave the Nou Camp during the summer.
The Argentine was accused this week of making life hard for teammate Antoine Griezmann by the French forward’s agent, with Barcelona well off the pace in this year’s La Liga title race as they languish down in eighth place, nine points behind pace-setters Real Sociedad with two games in hand.
Griezmann’s agent Eric Olhats criticised Messi and accused him of having too much control over the club, adding that he was operating a ‘reign of terror’ since Griezmann arrived from Atletico Madrid last year.
But after Messi returned to Barcelona from international duty with Argentina on Wednesday, he was asked about the comments by reporters at the airport.
"The truth is that I'm a little tired of always being the problem for everything at the club," Messi was quoted as saying by Spanish media.
"On top of that, after a 15-hour flight, I had the tax authorities waiting for me. It's madness."
With one year left on his contract, Messi tried to activate a disputed clause to leave Barcelona for free in the off-season, but eventually decided to stay as he did not want to face a legal battle with the club.
Barcelona have been in turmoil since Bayern Munich humiliated the Spanish side 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-finals last season. Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned last month ahead of a vote of no confidence.
Messi has also had his run-ins with the Spanish tax authorities in recent years.
He was handed a 21-month prison sentence in 2016 and ordered to pay a fine of €2m for defrauding the Spanish government of €4.2m over income earned from image rights.
However, the 33-year-old did not serve any jail time after exchanging his sentence for a €250,000 fine, as in Spain defendants without a previous conviction are permitted to serve any sentence of under two years on probation.
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Reuters
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