Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen has confirmed rumours that his relationship with legendary ahead Lionel Messi was not at all times at its greatest. The Argentine was the captain earlier than the German, and the pair spent eight years on the membership collectively, however the latter has confirmed that the connection between the 2 was not at all times at its greatest.
Talking on Phrasenmaeher, ter Stegen defined that when he was rubbed the flawed means, Messi was able to displaying up others on the coaching floor in a fashion that few may.
“He’s in all probability the one participant who can put a ball at your face if he needs. He has that potential. Others would shoot elsewhere; he may hit the goal. He’s finished it a number of occasions. The place did that anger come from? You’ll need to ask him (…). If he needs to make you look dangerous, he may,” he informed BILD’s podcast, as quoted by Diario AS.
The pair had been rumoured to have clashed at occasions throughout their latter years collectively within the lead as much as Messi’s exit in 2022, with ter Stegen feeling that maybe the group didn’t work exhausting sufficient on the different finish of the pitch. The present Barcelona captain roughly confirmed as a lot.
“Messi will get motivation from many issues that we don’t. We’ve had occasions when issues didn’t work out between us as a result of he was irritated with me and I used to be irritated with him.”
Ter Stegen: “When he [Luis Enrique] mentioned, after two years, ‘let’s wait and see how pre-season goes’. I used to be virtually offended. I then spoke with the board. Additionally they mentioned: ‘We’re completely not letting you go’. The discharge clause was 80 million on the time.”
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“We by no means argued, it’s to not say that we didn’t get alongside in any respect. However we had our moments, and that’s tremendous. We had been collectively within the dressing room for a very long time, and it was positively attention-grabbing to have him on the group and see how he leads. Whether or not or not it’s my fashion, it was attention-grabbing to look at. Leo doesn’t have a giant mouth; he works exhausting with presence and must say comparatively little, to be trustworthy. And when he says one thing, everybody listens. And that’s what you actually need to obtain as a captain: to be listened to and adopted.”
It’s not uncommon for personalities to conflict within the dressing room, particularly after such a very long time collectively, though these divides may cause points for group spirit and on the pitch. Messi’s reign at Barcelona usually noticed the membership comply with his needs, though he has at all times denied a number one function within the membership’s decision-making.