|
Lionel Messi says Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is entitled to substitute him "whenever he wants" after he was taken off early during the 3-1 Champions League win against Ajax on Tuesday. Having scored one already against the Dutch side, Messi, 27, was attempting to edge closer to Raul's record amount of Champions League goals. The Argentina captain, however, was substituted in the 66th minute -- while trailing the record by two -- with Enrique opting to rest him ahead of Saturday's clasico against Real Madrid. The substitution came just three days after Messi appeared to refuse to come off during the 3-0 win over Eibar, yet the player himself insists he has no problem with the Barca boss wanting to haul him off early. "A lot has been said in recent days, but Luis Enrique is the manager and he can take me off whenever he wants," Messi told Marca. Enrique played down the suggestion that Messi refused to come off against Eibar earlier this week, saying: "What happened can be interpreted many ways, depending on who it serves. I will carry on doing what I have been doing." Messi could break La Liga's all-time goalscoring record against Madrid on Saturday, needing just two to surpass Telmo Zarra's total of 251.
|
