"He lied to Messi and my face" - Barcelona star Gerard Pique slams former president Josep Bartomeu 

Gerard Pique has once again criticized former Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu. The Spaniard has called him out for his lies, especially those surrounding the Barcagate scandal.

The Barcelona chief reportedly hired a PR company to manage the club's reputation and was tasked with running disparaging stories about the senior players at the club. Bartomeu was one of several officials arrested for the scandal later.

Pique has revealed that he confronted the former president regarding the issue but was lied to at the training ground. The defender went on to claim that the same happened to Messi and told Jordi Wild, as cited by Marca:

"He is a person whose insecurities, or the desire to keep everyone happy, means he doesn't know how to say no. Not knowing how to deal with the problems. The last times we didn't see him at the Cuidad Deportiva. Why am I cross with Bartomeu? When he lied to my face with Barçagate."

"The club hired some services to criticize players. He lied to Leo and my faces at the training ground, he told us he knew nothing about Barçagate. We told him that we accepted that he didn't know anything and that we hoped he would take the appropriate measures."

"Then I found out that he did know. That he lied to my face in such a serious incident... at least he shows his face and asks for forgiveness. I went out like an idiot to defend him."

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What is Barcagate – the Barcelona scandal?

Barcagate was a term coined to refer to an investigation against former Barcelona president Bartomeu and three others. They were accused of secretly paying a PR firm, I3 Ventures, to handle the club's reputation on social media by damaging the players.

Bartomeu, along with Oscar Grau, Jaume Masferrer, and Roman Gomez Ponti, were arrested after the investigation began.

They reportedly paid the firm six times the market rate to get the job done, and police were alerted by a fan group.

Bartomeu resigned as the club's president in October 2020 and was replaced by Joan Laporta last year.