FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has revealed that he helped to defuse the animosity between star Lionel Messi and manager Luis Enrique.
Bartomeu insists that there is no animosity between the two anymore with a famous bust up during a season threatening to derail FC Barcelona season was defused by Bartomeu with the help of others.
“The animosity between Luis Enrique and Messi has passed. I acted on common sense and spoke to everyone, I contributed my bit, but there were many more who were involved too.”
The outgoing president went onto add that the Lionel Messi has reinvented himself at FC Barcelona over the last year and is even better than ever having already won four Ballon D’ors.
“Messi is the best in football history,” he told Cadena Cope. “This year he has been reinvented into an even better version.”
The 52-year-old also revealed that Luis Suarez had other lucrative offers before he chose to join FC Barcelona, and also spoke on the ongoing legal issues surrounding the amount of money the club paid to buy Neymar from Santos.
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“I have to thank Luis Suarez for coming to Barcelona when there was a better offer than ours,” he added.
“Barcelona have not done anything wrong. There are people interested in shaking the club. It is normal that a tax issue between Brazil and Spain has created this incredible drana. It will end in nothing.
“I am charged with defending Barcelona. Someone did not want Neymar to play for Barca. Neymar cost a 57.1 million. I will not change that stance. The other a 40m was paid to a company of his parents. It’s not normal that we are being sued two years later.”
Bartomeu is touted as one of the favorites for the position of president at FC Barcelona with the election due on 18th of July with the club on the back of a famous treble being his primary weapon in the race.