Barcelona have announced that they have sacked director Pere Gratacos after he claimed that Lionel Messi wouldn’t be such an effective player without the help of his team-mates.
The 58-year-old will, however, continue to be involved with the club in helping to develop the La Masia 360 project.
Gratacos suggested that Messi wouldn’t be as good if he didn’t have the assistance of the likes of Andres Iniesta and Neymar.
As reported by ESPN, Gratacos said: “Leo is one of the most important people in the team, but it’s not just about him.
“He would not be as good without [Andres] Iniesta, Neymar and company, but Messi is the best.”
A statement from Barcelona read: “FC Barcelona dismisses Pere Gratacós as head of Sports Institutional Relations with the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Pere Gratacós has been dismissed as responsible for Sporting Institutional Relations of FC Barcelona with the Royal Spanish Football Federation for having publicly expressed a personal opinion that does not coincide with that of the Institution after the draw for the quarterfinals of the King’s Cup Held today in Madrid. The decision has been made by Albert Soler, Director of Professional Sports, who will assume these functions directly from now on. Pere Gratacós will continue to be linked to FC Barcelona by developing the rest of the tasks already under the Masía 360 project.”
Messi is widely recognised as one of the greatest players of all time and has enjoyed much success at Barcelona, where he has won a wide range of trophies having progressed through the ranks at the club’s academy.
Gratacos played for Barcelona’s B and C teams as a youngster and coached Barcelona B between 2003 and 2005.
Messi has been hugely impressive this season- he has scored 13 goals in La Liga, while he has created 31 chances for his team-mates.
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