Lionel Messi Feud With Antoine Griezmann Intensifies As Barcelona Fails To Defeat Sevilla

The alleged tension between Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann is said to be getting worse. As Barcelona loses the top spot to Real Madrid after settling to a goalless draw against Sevilla on Friday, the two prized footballers at Camp Nou could not quite find the fix to their stained relationship.

According to Diaro Gol, the animosity between Messi and Griezmann is so intense that it could not anymore go unnoticed. Prior to the Barca’s return from the long break, a shoving incident between the club’s star captain and the French star has been rumored to occur during a training session. The bad blood seemed to carry over to the field as Messi was seen eluding the 29-year-old multiple times during their match against Leganes. That instance is said to be just one of the manifestations that show that the feud is indeed getting out of hand.

“The separation between Messi and Antoine Griezmann is evident,” the report read. “The conflict escalated to levels that cannot go unnoticed. One of the recent demonstrations that there is no going back was in the match against Leganés, where the Argentine did not pass the ball to the French even once.

“To add another chapter to this horror story, in training there has been friction, with (Quique) Setién and some colleagues having to intervene in the fights so that the situation does not get more intense.”

It is not clear what started the spat, but Ranoveer Neogi of Everything Barca provided a hint that Messi may be starting to become a problematic figure at the Blaugrana as he claimed that “ Griezmann is not the only one that has fallen out” with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.

“Although Antoine Griezmann might be the biggest star at the club that Lionel Messi has fallen out with, the Argentine forward has also fallen out with Junior Firpo who has failed to perform on several occasions,” Neogi wrote.

To back up the claim, the report has put emphasis on Messi's temper issues as it cited an instance during the match against Sevilla where the Argentine barely escaped getting slapped with a red card after he pushed down Diego Carlos following a heated verbal exchange.

Barcelona is now outraced by Madrid at the top of the standings after the Los Blancos defeated Real Sociedad on Sunday, 2-1. The Catalans will have the chance to regain the spot when they face Athletic Club on Wednesday at Camp Nou.