Barcelona\u2019s talisman Lionel Messi has finally broken the silence and retaliated, albeit not without control, a short but rapier-like thrust to team-mate Antoine Griezmann’s uncle and also his former adviser-cum-agent over accusations that he is mainly to blame for the Frenchman’s struggles at Barcelona since joining the club.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old Argentine playmaker erupted in a short tirade upon landing at the Barcelona airport from international duty that clearly showed he has had enough of being made the scapegoat for \u201ceveryone\u2019s problems\u201d at Barcelona following fresh criticisms laid upon him last week.<\/p>\n
Griezmann\u2019s continued struggles to settle in at the Camp Nou since his princely \u00a3108 million transfer to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in 2019 have been clearly evident. Insipid speculations, which were subsequently refuted, in the early days of his arrival suggested that the player was not particularly on good terms with club talisman and captain, Lionel Messi, with the latent innuendoes that the latter was opposed to the signing of the former Atletico Madrid striker.<\/p>\n
However, despite that phase having passed with Messi somehow admirably maintaining his composure and keeping silent on the whole affair, Griezmann\u2019s dismal on-pitch performances for the Blaugranas tarried, with the Frenchman scarcely managing only 11 goals with 5 assists in his 42 appearances in just the La Liga alone.<\/p>\n
Last week, the curtains arose to unfurl a new drama featuring the French striker’s uncle Emmanuel Lopes and former adviser Eric Olhats on self-erected stages denouncing Messi with a litany of accusations as both staunchly leaped to Griezmann\u2019s defence and instead adamantly pointed their fingers directly at Barcelona\u2019s best-loved son, jointly naming him as the primary agent provocateur<\/em> responsible for the French World Cup winner’s on-pitch misfortunes and debacles at the club.<\/p>\n Olhat, in his interview with France Football, had even the gall to acrimoniously label the Barca talisman as being “an emperor and a monarch” <\/em>at Camp Nou.<\/p>\n Act 2 of the same drama sees the spotlight awkwardly trained on an unsuspecting Messi – fresh from international duty after having starred in Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers – surrounded by a menagerie of eager reporters at the Barcelona airport pressing for his response to the heavy criticisms leveled against him. Included in the cast as an extra was, of all characters, a tax inspector seeking documentation from the venerable Barcelona doyen! Pushed beyond the limits of his human endurance and finally giving vent to his pent-up frustrations, the Barcelona skipper promptly erupted:<\/p>\n