adminMADRID. — Lionel Messi has angrily responded to claims that he made a rude gesture at Barcelona coach Tata Martino after being substituted in his most recent match.
Barca beat Real Sociedad 4-1 in La Liga on Tuesday night, with Messi scoring again, but the Argentine was replaced after three games in a week.
Spanish newspaper AS reported that Messi was unhappy at being taken off, and made his feelings known, but the Argentine has rubbished the “media lies”.On his official Facebook page, Fifa’s world’s best player cleared the situation up.
“Nobody likes to be replaced, but we must accept it because it is the best for our team,” he wrote.
“What I will not accept is that certain media tell lies about any situation that happens around me.”
Neymar scored in a comprehensive victory for the champions, with Sergio Busquets and Marc Bartra also finding the net. Barcelona manager “Tata” Martino has, meanwhile, again been forced onto the back foot after a win. Recently he defended himself against accusations of burying tiki-taka, after Barca had comprehensively swatted aside tricky Rayo Vallecano on their own home ground.
And now he has been forced to explain why he substituted superstar Messi, towards the end of Barca’s demolition of Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Messi had been unusually profligate, even though he did score one goal, registered an assist, and was largely involved in Barca’s other two goals.
And with the games coming thick and fast, Martino opted to remove his most important player from the fray. The game was never in doubt, but still Messi did not seem elated when he trudged his way towards the dugout.
After the match, Messi was accused by some pundits of petulance, while Martino was chided for deigning to slap the superstar in the face by substituting him. However, Messi denies reacting poorly to his substitution, and Martino insists it was for the best.
“Messi never wants to be subbed off, but it’s my task to take care of him,” Martino added after the match. “We need him at end of season as well as now.”
Martino also had praise for new boy Neymar, who marked another twinkle-toed display with his first La Liga goal for Barca, even if the finish was surprisingly clumsy for the samba star.
“Neymar is an exceptional player,” Martino. “It has surprised us how hard he wants to work for the team.” — Mailonline
Online Reporter