Ex-Barcelona Coach Says Talking About Lionel Messi Doesn't Makes Sense

Ex-Barcelona coach Tata Martino will discuss anything related to football, but when the topic is all about Lionel Messi and his time at Camp Nou, he would rather not utter a single word.

Earlier this month, Messi became the subject of conversations between former Barcelona coaches. Recently-sacked manager Quique Setien started the trail by recently claiming the Argentine is “difficult to manage.”

Current Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman followed suit. He disagreed with Setien and insisted that he and Messi are in good terms professionally.

"I have no difficulties to lead [him],” Koeman recently told a news conference of Messi. “He is the captain and I talk to him every week. I see things differently from Setien and I do not agree [with his opinion]."

But Martino, who managed Barcelona in the 2013-14 La Liga season, refused to talk about anything about Messi and his former club.

In an exclusive interview with Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Martino was asked to give his take on Setien’s comments about Messi.

However, the 57-year-old quickly shut it down and explained that discussing something that is already “a matter of the past” doesn’t make sense at this point.

“It’s a matter of the past,” Martino responded when asked if Messi was difficult to deal with.

“Now I am the coach of Mexico. I believe that people say and do things when we are in the place–after it has no validity. I already expressed myself in those moments and there is nothing that changes my opinion–my time with Barcelona passed a long time ago, and there’s nothing to add.”

During his time with Barcelona, Martino became a controversial figure after being accused of telling Messi, “I know that if you call the president he will dismiss me, but you don’t need to prove it me every day.”

In his defense, Martino pointed his finger at former Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta as the person responsible for the powerful phrase.

According to the Mexico national team coach, he’s the type of coach who says what he wants to say straight to his players’ faces.

Martino insisted that he would’ve directly talked to Messi then and now if there’s anything to discuss.

“I never expressed those words,” he bared. “That phrase is the responsibility of the former Sporting Director Zubizarreta, from what I read, in a note to Vicente Del Bosque."

"In any case, if I had something to say, either now or before, I would have said it [to Messi]. Those words never came out of my mouth and I have nothing to say about it.”