After harsh comments made about Lionel Messi, Barcelona fired Pere Gractacos from his position as the director of institutional relations with the Spanish Football Federation.
Lionel Messi has been the subject of a lot of criticism over his career at Barcelona. However, there are some times that the criticism comes at the wrong time. This is the case when it comes to the words of Pere Gratacos. Messi is in negotiations for a new contract and Barca don’t want talks to fall through. Despite this, Gratacos decided to step over the boundaries with a very controversial take on the superstar Argentine.
Gratacos said that “Messi would not be as good without Iniesta or Neymar.” This comment set off the rest of the Barca front office. Then, the Barca front office came to the decision of firing Gratacos. Later, Barcelona released a statement on his firing.
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“Pere Gratacos has been dismissed from his role as director of institutional relations for having publicly expressed a personal opinion that does not coincide with that of the club after the draw for the quarterfinal of the Copa del Rey,” the statement said. “The decision was made by Albert Soler, who will take on these responsibilities directly from now on. Pere Gratacos will continue to be linked to Barcelona by working on the La Masia 360 project which is already underway.”
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With Messi’s contract situation up in the air, the comments from Gratacos won’t help in the process of renewing his deal. In addition to this, the front office is trying to work things out with its star player and attraction. Messi has done everything the club has asked him to do and hopefully things work out for him. Overall, Messi has the leverage due to his talent and his impact on the club over the last decade plus. Hopefully, both sides are able to work out a deal so that Messi can stay with the club he grew up playing for.