BARCELONA star Clement Lenglet has dismissed claims that there is tension between Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann and insisted “dialogue comes little by little”.
Rumours that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has an icy attitude towards the summer signing from Atletico Madrid have been rife – amid claims he wanted his friend Neymar to be re-signed.
Rumours are rife of Messi and Griezmann having a frosty relationshipCredit: Reuters
Lenglet was speaking to local media as he prepared for yesterday’s 2-1 win over Moldova with France.
When asked about a potential rift between Messi and international team-mate Griezmann, 28, Lenglet said: “The same thing that happened to me is happening to Antoine. Dialogue comes little by little.
“Messi has a strong nucleus around him, he gets on very well with Luis Suarez, but he is very open and contact will come with time.
“You can talk about a lot of things with Messi, not just football, he helps us every day.”
As for Messi’s role in the changing room, Lenglet revealed: “When we arrive at Barcelona, he notices the things that you do but he is not the type of guy to give us orders or reprimand us.”
Lenglet then spoke about the difficulties that players can have at Barcelona. He added: “It is not easy to earn your place in a club like Barca because there are a lot of players that have as much experience as you.
Results have been mixed for the Catalan giants this seasonCredit: AP:Associated Press
“Barca has a very particular style of play which Antoine is not accustomed to. He needs time to adapt to feel his best on the pitch.”
And Griezmann himself spoke after the game about how he has found adapting to life at his new club.
He said: “Playing more focused is better for me since I can get a better orientation.
“I have been playing in this position for many years and now what I have to do is adapt. I am learning a lot, although I already knew that getting to Barcelona was going to be difficult.”
France boss Didier Deschamps also leapt to his forward’s defence: “His situation in Barca is not catastrophic but it could be better. At Atletico he was in his best position.”
Fans have long believed that Messi does not trust Griezmann on the pitch, with videos surfacing of the Argentine megastar ignoring his team-mate, in favour of shooting himself.
And even Griezmann himself has admitted that the pair are not close.
Lenglet signed for Barcelona in the summer of 2018 and has made 59 appearances for the club.
He made his debut for world champions France this year, and has now made five appearances for his country.
Griezmann admits Messi barely talks to him at Barcelona
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
