Allegedly the tension between Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann has been reported to be taking a turn for the worse even as Barcelona loses the top spot to Real Madrid after their goalless draw against Sevilla on Friday. Apparently the two footballers at the Blaugrana have not been able to fix their strained relationship.
According to Diaro Gol, the intensity of the animosity between Messi and Griezmann has escalated to a level that that could not go unnoticed anymore at Camp Nou. Prior to the Barca’s return from the long break, there were rumors of a shoving incident between the star captain and the French striker has during a training session.
The bad blood is said to have spilled over to the field as Messi was seen elusively avoiding the Griezmann multiple times during their recent match against Leganes. This incident is only one of the manifestations pointing to the feud that seems to have gotten out of hand.
“The separation between Messi and Antoine Griezmann is evident,” the report read.
“The conflict escalated to levels that cannot go unnoticed. One of the recent demonstrations that there is no going back was in the match against Leganés, where the Argentine did not pass the ball to the French even once.
“To add another chapter to this horror story, in training there has been friction, with (Quique) Setién and some colleagues having to intervene in the fights so that the situation does not get more intense.”
No light has so far been thrown on what started the spat, but Ranoveer Neogi of Everything hinted that Messi seems to have become a problematic figure at the Blaugrana of late as he claimed that “Griezmann is not the only one that has fallen out” with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“Although Antoine Griezmann might be the biggest star at the club that Lionel Messi has fallen out with, the Argentine forward has also fallen out with Junior Firpo who has failed to perform on several occasions,” Neogi wrote.
To substantiate their claim, the report has put emphasis on Messi’s temper issues, citing an instance during the match against Sevilla where the Argentine barely escaped getting slapped with a red card after he pushed down Diego Carlos following a heated verbal exchange.
Barcelona has now been overtaken by Madrid at the top of the standings after the Los Blancos defeated Real Sociedad on Sunday 2-1. However, the Catalans will have the chance to remedy that when they face Athletic Club on Wednesday at Camp Nou.