Barcelona Transfer News: Luis Enrique Rubbishes Lionel Messi Rumours

Luis Enrique commented on the recent power struggles within Barcelona on Wednesday amid rumours star forward Lionel Messi has presented the club with an ultimatum, according to the Spanish press.

The Blaugrana are seemingly in crisis after the sacking of director of football Andoni Zubizarreta and the subsequent departure of Carles Puyol, with reports emerging Messi and Enrique have hit rock-bottom in their relationship.

As shared by ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan, the manager was truly saddened by the departure of the staff members:

Enrique has bigger fish to fry right now, however. After the 1-0 loss against Real Sociedad on Sunday, rumours started to emerge the former Celta Vigo boss had lost the locker room, and particularly Messi.

According to a report from Luis Rojo of Marca, the pair took part in a training room dust-up that had to have Neymar separate them:

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Messi had flown in from Argentina, where he spent his Christmas holidays, at around 15:30, in the nick of time for the 17:00 training session.

By all accounts, the bust-up was over something minor, but there was already bad blood between the star player and coach and the incident served to push Messi over the edge.
It all started when Enrique didn't award Messi a free-kick during a practice match when the Argentine was adamant that he had been fouled. They had it out on the training pitch, but that wasn't the end of it. After the match, Messi went looking for the manager to complain about the decision and things started to get heated. The pair nearly came to blows but then Neymar, who had got wind of the argument, showed up and pulled them apart, while Messi continued to voice his disgruntlement.

The incident was the catalyst for further run-ins, with Enrique riling Messi by naming him on the bench at the Anoeta - something the Argentine was not expecting at all, despite only having trained twice in the run-up to the game - and the star allegedly getting his own back with his no-show during Monday's open-doors training session.

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The Argentina international missed training with an upset stomach the next day, and according to AS' Santi Gimenez, he never informed Enrique he wouldn't show up for the open practice:

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Half an hour before the January 5 training session at the Mini Estadi, Xavi realized that Messi was absent. It was the captain who showed concern about why the Argentinean had failed to show up. Luis Enrique was in his office and oblivious to the situation.

It was Xavi who informed Luis Enrique that Messi was not feeling well; the fact that the player had not told him directly himself enraged the coach who threatened disciplinary measures against Messi.

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According to the report, the club eventually made a press release explaining Messi missed training due to gastroenteritis, and Enrique stuck to the story during a press conference on Wednesday, via AS English:

He also refused to elaborate on the things being said behind closed doors, although he did confirm the atmosphere inside the dressing room is far from positive right now:

Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu denied that Messi had been punished, according to Bleacher Report's Guillem Balague:

He also defended Enrique, and downplayed the spat between player and manager, according to Corrigan:

Gimenez goes on to state the two nearly came to blows during an earlier training session, and Messi has now reportedly given the Barcelona brass an ultimatum: either Enrique goes, or he does.

For his part, Enrique believes he doesn't own any of the players anything, as reported by Corrigan:

He also refuted claims he has been presented with an ultimatum and refused to address the ongoing rumours, per AS English:

Bartomeu likewise danced around questions regarding a potential sale of their talismanic star, according to Corrigan:

Whether he's actually doing a good job of managing his squad is a matter for debate. The ongoing stream of rumours coming out of the Camp Nou only appears to grow stronger with every passing day, and in the wake of Zubizarreta's sacking and the loss at the Anoeta, controversy is the last thing the club needs.

Enrique's position appears to be under more threat than ever, just half a season into his career as manager of the Blaugrana. With several high-profile staff members already sacked, it will be interesting to see whether the manager will be given the time needed to mend fences and regain the trust of his star forward.