Revealed! Lionel Messi once refused to be substituted like Chelsea star Kepa Arrizabalaga

Revealed! Lionel Messi once refused to be substituted like Chelsea star Kepa Arrizabalaga

Lionel Messi has also once refused to be substituted when the then Barcelona manager Luis Enrique attempted to bring him off in 2014.

Though La Blaugrana won the La Liga game by 3-0 over Eibar but Enrique attempted to take the Argentine off in the last 15 minutes in a bid to give him rest with Barca already securing three points.

But Messi gave a sign that he would finish the game and continued to walk further away from Enrique as he ignored his pleas.

Munir El Haddadi was later brought on for Neymar rather than Messi as Enrique decide it was not worth the risk of angering Barca's star player.

Like Sarri, Enrique tried to play down the incident in his post-match press conference with ESPN:

"Before making changes, we generally ask the players and we make the decision afterwards.

"What happened can be interpreted many ways, depending on who it serves. I will carry on doing what I have been doing.

"I have to take everything into account, but I trust in how he feels and what he tells me.

"Sometimes I look around me on the bench and think how lucky we are to have Messi. For us it is not just about what he does on the pitch. He is also a great motivator for his teammates."

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