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Barcelona fans had some choice words for Antoine Griezmann regarding captain Lionel Messi as the Frenchman left the club on Thursday after the team’s training session ahead of Saturday’s La Liga match against Atletico Madrid.
Griezmann was approached by a handful of supporters as he drove away from the club. The fans were heard shouting at Griezmann that “Messi is respected” following comments made about the club captain by individuals associated with the Frenchman.
😡 “𝗔 𝗠𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗔” 😡
💣 Aficionados del @FCBarcelona_es INCREPAN a GRIEZMANN a la salida de la Ciudad Deportiva
Messi was given permission to miss Thursday’s session by manager Ronald Koeman after a long 15-hour flight back from Argentina, as reported by AS. The captain is due to return for Barca’s final session before the game on Friday morning.
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Messi Hits Back After Criticism
Messi was met at the airport after his long flight by reporters. The captain was asked about critical comments from Griezmann’s camp and made his feelings quite clear.
🗣 Lionel Messi has landed back in Barcelona and says he’s “tired of always being the problem with everything at the club” 👀https://t.co/iAmJ3a5rZ6
Griezmann’s former agent former agent Eric Olhats told France Football that Messi’s attitude towards the Frenchman had been “deplorable” and that the Argentine presided over a “reign of terror” at the Camp Nou, as reported by AS.
Olhats worked with Griezmann throughout his career but the two have not spoken “for several years,” according to Marca. The forward’s business affairs are now handled by his sister Maud.
Yet Griezmann’s uncle, Emmanuel Lopes, has also added to the controversy, as reported by AS. Lopes said the club captain “doesn’t work hard enough at Barca” and added “training sessions are structured in order to please certain people.”
Barcelona ‘Should Not’ Have Signed Griezmann
Meanwhile, Griezmann has also come in for criticism from presidential candidate Victor Font. The 48-year-old has told Cope that, “Griezmann was a signing that shouldn’t have been made.”
Griezmann arrived from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019 after Barcelona activated the €120 million release clause in his contract. The Frenchman had turned down a move to the Camp Nou a year previously in his infamous ‘La Decision’ documentary.
Yet Griezmann has received some support from Atletico president Enrique Cerezo. The 72-year-old told El Larguero that the Frenchman remains one of the best players in the world despite his Camp Nou difficulties, as reported by AS.
I said to him: ‘I hope wherever you go they treat you and love you like we do here’. He is in a difficult situation. When the team are doing badly, everything is bad. Griezmann is one of the top three players in Europe.
All of which means there will be plenty of scrutiny on both Griezmann and Messi as the duo return to Barcelona action after the international break. The Catalan giants are up against Griezmann’s former club Atletico on Saturday in a crucial fixture in La Liga.
Griezmann has only scored twice for Barcelona so far this season, although he was on target last time out against Real Betis after a lovely dummy from Messi. Both players are expected to start the match against Atleti and a win for the visitors could go a long way to reigniting Barca’s season and quietening the growing critics.
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