Messi ignored the shouts of manager Luis Enrique.
We all know that Lionel Messi is the main man at Barcelona – and deservedly so with the record that he has for the club, but with Marca reporting that the Argentine wizard refused to be substituted during the weekend victory over Eibar, does Messi have too much influence at the Nou Camp?
SEE MORE:
Real Madrid “best attack in the world”
Most marketable footballers in the world
Messi goal video
The report suggests that Messi was due to be substituted just after he had calmly stroked home to make it 3-0 to the Catalan side on the night – but ignored the shouts of manager Luis Enrique from the touchline, meaning that it was teammate and fellow goalscorer Neymar who made way for teenage forward Munir El Haddadi instead.
It would seem that Enrique was intending to rest Messi for the final few minutes ahead of a crucial week for the club in which they play in the Champions League before facing bitter domestic rivals Real Madrid for the first time this campaign next weekend – but with Messi within touching distance of the all-time La Liga goalscoring record, was he keen to stay on and get the job done there and then against Basque minnows Eibar?
Either way, it didn’t happen for Messi, who was ineffectual in the closing moments as Barcelona saw out a comfortable 3-0 win that leaves them top of the La Liga and still yet to concede a goal in the league this season.