Lionel Messi Involved in a Heated Argument With Barcelona Assistant Coach Eder Sarabia Post 0–2 El Clasico Defeat to Rivals Real Madrid

Things just seem to be getting worse for Lionel Messi and Barcelona. Both have been connected to each other since 2003 when Messi, then of only 13, joined the Catalan club’s academy and since then Messi and Barcelona have scaled mountains, reached peaks and won numerous trophies together. But their 17-year-old relationship looks to be deteriorating. The first signs of that came when Messi was involved in a very public showdown with the club’s technical director Eric Abidal over the latter’s controversial interview. And as if things couldn’t get worse, the Argentine has been reported to have been involved in a heated argument with Barcelona’s assistant coach Eder Sarabia following the club’s 0-2 El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga 2019-20 on the weekend. Lionel Messi Trolled With Funny Memes and Jokes for Poor Performance in Barcelona’s 0–2 Defeat to Real Madrid in El Clásico 2019–20 Clash.

According to reports in Europe, Messi, who cut a dull figure as Real Madrid scored twice in the final 30 minutes of the El Clasico, confronted Barca assistant Sarabia for his very animated behaviour during the clash. Vinicius Junior and Mariano scored the goals as Real Madrid downed Barcelona to their first El Clasico defeat since June 2018. The Argentine, who reportedly played the El Clasico with a recurring thigh injury, missed two golden opportunities to score the goals for Barcelona leaving his side second to Madrid in the La Liga 2019-20 points table. Vinicius Jr Breaks Lionel Messi’s El Clasico Record After Netting in Real Madrid’s Win Over Barcelona.

An animated Eder Sarabia Reacts

Both teams looked far from their best in the El Clasico and were often guilty of lethargic play. Buy Barcelona started better and had Madrid on the catch throughout the first half in which they had as many as three clear-cut opportunities to go ahead but missed all three with Antoine Griezmann and Arthur failing to beat Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Messi firing wide from six yards out. Their performance certainly upset Quique Seiten’s assistant Sarabia who was shown to be very animated on the bench.

Barcelona Assitant Coach Sarabia Frustrated

An online video shows Sarabia, who has been assistant to current Barcelona head coach Seiten since 2015, frustrated with his team’s performance. The video shows an angry Sarabia reacting to lethargic play and misses of his side. When Griezmann failed to find the net from close range in the first half, Sarabia can be heard yelling “F**king hell, Antoine, stick it away!” Similarly, when Sergio Busquets misplaced a pass, Sarabia shouted to one of his colleagues "He's not doing any of the things he's supposed to be doing!"

Messi Involved in Heated Talk with Sarabia

At one point in the video, he can also be heard yelling at Messi and this kind of behaviour from their assistant coach on the touchline reportedly didn’t go down well with the Barca players, who are said to have taken a disliking towards Sarabia for such behaviour on the bench. According to a post from ESPN FC journalist Moi Llorens, Messi spoke to Sarabia about his behaviour and both were also involved in a heated argument over the incident when Messi expressed his and other players’ displeasure.

Meanwhile, the win propelled Real Madrid to the top of the La team standings once again. Real, courtesy the El Clasico victory, now lead Barcelona by a solitary point after 27 rounds. The win also halted their three-match winless run, two of which were defeats to Manchester City and Levante. Both sides are also in a difficult situation in the Champions League. Madrid lost 1-12 at home to City, while Barcelona drew 1-1 in the 1st leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash against Napoli.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 04, 2020 02:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).