SHARE
COPY LINK

SOCIAL MEDIA

Messi sees ‘strange’ things at Barcelona after social media row

Lionel Messi said Wednesday it was "strange" to see Barcelona locked in a row over a company accused of criticising current and former players, including himself, on social media.

Messi sees 'strange' things at Barcelona after social media row
Photo: AFP

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said on Tuesday the club had terminated its contract with PR company, I3 Ventures, who had been hired to improve the image of Bartomeu and the club's board online.

According to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser Catalunya, the company oversaw “dozens” of accounts attacking the likes of Messi, Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez, Pep Guardiola and Carles Puyol on Facebook and Twitter.

Among the messages the report cited is one expressing anger towards Messi for his delay in signing a new contract and another questioning Pique's involvement in tennis' Davis Cup.

“The truth is that I find it strange that something like this happens,” Messi said in an interview to be published on Thursday by Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

“But they also said that there would be evidence. We will have to wait to see if it is true or not. We cannot say much and wait to see what happens with all this. It seems a strange issue,” added the Barca captain.

Bartomeu has met with senior players, including Messi, to explain the case.   

“The president told us the same thing he said publicly, the same thing he said at the press conference. What was the situation, what had happened. I can't say much more,” Messi said.

In a statement on Monday, Barcelona denied that it was behind the messages and Bartomeu reiterated that stance on Tuesday.   

“Barca has never hired a service to discredit anyone,” he said. “Not a player, not a former player, nor any politician, manager, president or former president.”

Bartomeu added: “That is flatly false. We will defend ourselves where necessary on this issue, by all means.”

Barcelona had already threatened legal action against any media organisations that “continue to implicate the club in this type of practice”.    

“Let one thing be clear,” Bartomeu continued. “To the question: Have we commissioned the monitoring of social networks? The answer is yes.   

“To the question: Have we commissioned to discredit people or institutions through social networks? The answer is no and we will take action against all those who accuse us of that.”

The controversy increases the pressure on Bartomeu and the Barcelona board ahead of presidential elections due next year, and following a period of political turmoil at the club.

The board were clumsy in their sacking of coach Ernesto Valverde last month, when an approach to Xavi Hernandez was leaked while Valverde was still in post.

And two weeks ago, Messi engaged in a public spat with the club's technical secretary Eric Abidal, who claimed the players were the main cause of Valverde's removal.

The timing of this latest controversy is also a potential distraction ahead of a crucial week for the team.

Barcelona play Eibar at home in La Liga on Saturday before facing Napoli away in the Champions League and then Real Madrid in the league at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

ENVIRONMENT

Why has the expansion of Barcelona airport prompted mass protests?

Around 10,000 people demonstrated against the expansion of the El Prat airport in Barcelona on Sunday.

Why has the expansion of Barcelona airport prompted mass protests?
People march during a demonstration against the expansion of the Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

Several ecological and agricultural organisations, have demanded that the expansion be stopped due to the fact nearby wetlands and farms would have to be destroyed.

The demonstration took place on Calle Tarragona in the Catalan capital between Plaça d’Espanya and Plaça dels Països Catalans.

The protests still took place, even though last week, Spain suspended the €1.7 billion airport expansion project, citing differences with the Catalan government, after president Pere Aragonès said he wanted to avoid destroying La Ricarda lagoon, a natural reserve next to the airport. 

Environmentalists decided not to call off the march, in case plans for the airport expansion still went ahead.

READ ALSO: Six things you need to know about Barcelona airport’s €1.7 billion planned expansion

Political representatives from ERC, En Comú Podem and the CUP also attended, as well as the leader of Más País, Íñigo Errejón; the Deputy Mayor for Ecology of the Barcelona City Council, Janet Sanz, and the Mayor of El Prat de Llobregat, Lluís Mijoler.

People from neighbourhoods across the city marched towards Calle Tarragona and could be seen holding placards that read Nature yes, airport no and shouting slogans such as “More courgettes and fewer planes” and “Fighting for the climate, health, and life”. 

One of the largest groups of people were those from El Prat de Llobregat, the municipality which is home to the airport, who were led by tractors. 

People march during a demonstration against the expansion of Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP

In addition to protesting against the expansion of the El Prat airport, people were also demonstrating against the Winter Olympic Games in the Pyrenees and extensions to airports in Mallorca and Madrid. 

A representative of Zeroport, Sara Mingorría said “We are here to defend not only La Ricarda, but the entire Delta”. 

The philosopher Marina Garcés also argued that the expansion of the airport would mean “more borders, more mass tourism, more control and more precarious jobs.” 

The leader of the commons in the Catalan parliament, Jéssica Albiach, who also attended the protest, asked the PSOE for “coherence”: “You cannot be passing a law against climate change and, at the same time, defend the interests of Aena [the airport operations company]”, she said. 

She also urged the leader of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, to “definitely say no. 

If the airport expansion in Barcelona goes ahead, environmentalists say that CO2 emissions would rise by a minimum of 33 percent. These levels would surpass the limits set by the Catalan government’s climate targets.

SHOW COMMENTS