Koeman Accuses Ex-Manchester United Star Of Being Disrespectful Over Messi’s Transfer Rumors

Lionel Messi’s Argentina teammate Angel di Maria has angered FC Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman by suggesting the Catalans skipper could join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the upcoming summer market.

Messi’s current deal with Barcelona is due to expire in the summer of 2021 and it is understood that the club skipper is nowhere close to signing an extension. Messi, who has been associated with Barcelona since 2001, had decided to part ways last summer. He chose to see through his contract after the club was firm about his hefty release clause that was not affordable by any club, including Manchester City that were looking to bring him to the Premier League.

In recent times, Messi has also been heavily linked with a move to PSG, where he would reunite with his former Barcelona teammate and good friend Neymar. Last month, PSG’s sporting director Leonardo told France Football, "Great players like Messi will always be on PSG's list. But this is of course not the time to talk about it, or to dream about it."

After PSG’s 3-0 win over Nimes Wednesday, the 32-year-old midfielder di Maria backed his sporting director’s comments. "Yes, yes, I hope so. There are many possibilities. We have to be calm and things will develop, " Di Maria said in an interview of a possible PSG move for his international teammate.

Later in the day, Barcelona clinched a nail-biting 5-3 victory over Granada to secure a semi-final spot in the Copa del Rey. In a post-match interview, referring to di Maria’s comments, Koeman accused the former Manchester United midfielder of being disrespectful towards the Camp Nou club.

"It seems to me, a lack of respect. Someone can be wrong in saying something like that. It is not fair, I do not think it is respectful towards Barca to speak like that of a player who is ours. So many people from PSG talk a lot about Leo, who plays for Barca. Besides, we have a tie against them," Koeman added, referring to the teams' upcoming Champions League last-16 matchup.

Meanwhile, Koeman also heaped praise on his boys for coming back from two goals down to defeat Granada in the Copa del Rey game.

"It's incredible. The football is incredible. I think we've done well. We had chances to win the game earlier. The team has been huge. In the last five minutes of the second half, we scored two goals. Then extra time was incredible. The first thing that stands out about the team is their mentality. We never stop trying, " added Koeman in the same interview.