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Published 18:51 IST, June 29th 2020

Lionel Messi ignores advice from Setien's assistant Sarabia as Barcelona chaos continues

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi appeared to ignore instructions from the club's assistant coach, Eder Sarabia, during their cooling break against Celta Vigo.

Reported by: Arnold Dsouza
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During Barcelona's LaLiga clash against Celta Vigo at the Municipal de Balaidos on Saturday, there appeared to be some tension between club talisman Lionel Messi and assistant coach Eder Sarabia. During one of the two cooling breaks, Eder Sarabia tried to convey a message to Lionel Messi but the Argentine seemingly ignored his comments before walking away. The Celta Vigo vs Barcelona clash ended 2-2 with Quique Setien's side dropping points and allowing Real Madrid to take full control of the LaLiga title race with six matchdays remaining.

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Quique Setien sacked? Lionel Messi ignores instructions from Barcelona assistant coach as tensions mount

The unexpected turn of events featuring Lionel Messi and Eder Sarabia took place during the cooling break of the game against Celta Vigo. In the footage, Lionel Messi is seen ignoring instructions from Quique Setien's assistant Eder Sarabia with the latter trying to offer some tactical advice to the 33-year-old club captain. Lionel Messi appears to take no notice of the masked Sarabia, who continues to stare at the six-time Ballon d'Or winner while he makes his way back onto the pitch.

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A few months ago, it was reported that Sarabia is 'extremely harsh' with his criticism of players. Reports in Spain also claimed that there was a heated discussion with the Barcelona players and the coaching staff following the draw against Celta Vigo. The incident between Lionel Messi and Sarabia highlighted the split between the players and the Barcelona coaching staff. The footage also shows Sarabia mouthing some words while looking a little disgruntled as Lionel Messi walks off. 

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Quique Setien sacked? Barcelona fall to second on LaLiga table

The stories of 'Quique Setien sacked by end of season' were trending on social media as multiple reports claimed that Barcelona are planning to sack the 61-year-old following the conclusion of the current campaign. A string of poor results has seen Barcelona and Lionel Messi give up the top spot on the LaLiga table. A goalless draw against Sevilla last Saturday was followed by a narrow 1-0 win against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. 

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Barcelona had the chance to put the pressure back on Zinedine Zidane's side but allowed Celta Vigo to make a comeback on two occasions before eventually sharing the spoils. Los Blancos then stretched their lead to two points at the top of the LaLiga table with a 1-0 win against Espanyol. With six Barcelona fixtures remaining until the end of the season, Seiten's side can ill-afford to drop any more points if they are to chase down arch-rivals Real Madrid. 

Image Credits - Leo Messi Instagram, AP

18:51 IST, June 29th 2020