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Masip, who was part of Enrique’s treble-winning team, spilled the beans on how the relationship between Messi and the then-head coach turned rocky.
Lionel Messi and Luis Enrique back in their Barcelona days (X)
Former Barcelona goalkeeper Jordi Masip has claimed that Lionel Messi and coach Luis Enrique engaged in a cold war in the 2014-15 season.
The Catalan giants achieved tremendous success in the Enrique era. With the Spanish manager in charge, Barcelona secured a treble — La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey — in 2015.
Messi was a key to their dominant run across competitions. The Argentine struck 58 goals in his 57 appearances, helping Barcelona to become the first European team to secure a continental treble for the first time after doing so under Pep Guardiola in the 2008-09 season.
Masip, who was part of Enrique’s treble-winning team, spilled the beans on how the relationship between Messi and the then-head coach turned rocky.
It all started after Enrique dropped Messi from the matchday squad ahead of a La Liga game against Espanyol, supposedly to manage his workload.
According to Masip, Messi was irked by the fact that Enrique didn’t discuss it with him before taking the call. In response, the eight-time Ballon d’Or skipped Barcelona’s traditional open-door training session on Three Kings’ Day and the move didn’t go down well with Enrique.
The duo might not have confronted each other publicly. But, Masip felt the incident led to a tense atmosphere inside the dressing room.
“Luis Enrique and Messi didn’t come to blows, but there was tension. It was normal given the situation at the time,” the retired Spanish goalkeeper recalled during a recent interaction with Cadena SER.
Masip further revealed that Xavi Hernandez, who was Barcelona’s captain at that time, made sure the situation was normal as soon as possible. The 36-year-old, however, insisted that the personal issues between Messi and Enrique hardly had any impact on their on-field roles.
“From there, the treble was won, so welcome,” Masip said, referring to how Barcelona wrapped up the 2014-15 season as the best European team.
During his time at Barcelona, Masip mostly warned the bench, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen playing as the first-choice keeper. Masip stayed at the club till 2017 before switching to another LaLiga side, Real Valladolid. The Spaniard announced his retirement from professional football last month.
