Under-fire Barcelona boss Koeman claims Messi "disguised everything" at club

Lionel Messi "disguised everything" wrong at Barcelona in recent years according to the club's under-fire boss Ronald Koeman.

The Argentine superstar left the Camp Nou this summer with the Catalan giants claiming they were unable to register a new contract for him due to their economic budget.

He subsequently penned a two-year contract at Paris Saint-Germain this summer with his exit leaving a profound absence in the Blaugrana's squad.

The Dutchman's comments come at a time when his own position is coming under increasing pressure with the club currently in the process of drawing up a shortlist of potential replacements for the position.

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has lamented Lionel Messi's Camp Nou exit ( Image:

REUTERS)

Koeman's side have made a slow start to the season and only a last-minute equaliser from Ronald Araujo prevented them from slipping to a shock home defeat against Granada on Monday night.

That came less than a week after a humbling experience at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, where the German champions cruised to a three-goal victory with the home side failing to register a shot on target.

Koeman has now given an interview to Dutch media outlet Voetball International whereby he has spoken about the ongoing issues at the Camp Nou.

His most revealing quote in the interview was claiming that Messi had "disguised everything" at the club in recent years, both during his first season at the helm and the seasons preceding his arrival.

Koeman was suggesting that the 34-year-old's goal output and ability to rescue multiple matches for his side hid a long-term decline and slip in standards across the club.

These comments should be taken in the context of Koeman's precarious job situation ahead of the midweek trip to Cadiz and upcoming home match against Levante.

On the other hand, the Dutchman added that "it is in these type of difficult situations that I get the best out of me and the team."

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Only 27,000 Barca fans from an allocation of 40,000 tickets turned up to see their side's draw against Granada on Monday and the apathy among the fanbase appears to be hurting the club's potential income.

Koeman was appointed by the club's previous president Josep Maria Bartomeu last summer but the election of the returning president Joan Laporta in March was always likely to prompt a change of direction at the club.

Laporta admitted at the end of last season - when Barca's season petered out to a third-placed La Liga finish - that the club would consider replacing the boss but could not identify a suitable alternative.

Sacking Koeman, whose contract at the club expires at the end of the campaign, would cost the club in the region of £10million - a financial hit they can ill-afford due to their precarious economic position.

Monday night saw an abandonment of the club's self-styled principles; casting aside the slick, passing style that was built by Johan Cruyff and developed by Pep Guardiola and later built around Lionel Messi.

Koeman's side played 54 crosses into Granada's penalty area while they ended the match with a front three comprised of central defenders Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo alongside loanee Luuk de Jong.