The fact that Lionel Messi never approved Quique Setién's appointment as Barcelona's coach was well documented during the months both men had to work side-by-side, but things escalated up to the point where Messi and the boss entered a war of words with the entire squad as silent witnesses.
According to a report by Cadena Ser, the heated exchange between Messi and Setién took place moments after Los Blaugranas dropped two points against Celta, which proved to be crucial for the team to lose the 2019-20 title.
The report suggests that it all began with Setién complaining about the players' lack of intensity during the game's final minutes, which led to Iago Aspas' equalizer moments before the end of the match. Setién's words were harsh, and Lionel Messi allegedly stepped up to ask Setién to keep calm, since their resume is far better than the one owned by the Spanish coach.
But just when you would think that Setién would take things lightly, he aimed quite a dig at Messi by reportedly telling him that "if he did not like what he was hearing, he was free to walk out the door". The media outlet stated that Messi just smiled in a sarcastic way and decided to sit down.
This is the same game in which Messi ignored Eder Sarabia's requests while there was a hidration pause. Later that week, Messi and Suárez aimed a few jibes at the team's coach and staff for their poor reactions when the team needed some help from the bench.
This report comes to light just when Messi has not been able to score a single open play goal in the 2020-21 season. Added to that, it seems that this report adds to the rumors that see Messi as the real reason why some of the team's coaches have been fired over the years.
