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What's the story?
Brazilian icon Ronaldo Nazario believes that it is unfair for Lionel Messi to get most of the credit for Barcelona's victories if he is hardly criticised for their losses.
The former Barcelona striker believes that the likes of Ernesto Valverde and Philippe Coutinho have borne the brunt for the Catalan giants' recent Champions League defeat to Liverpool, and has stated that Messi should be equally blamed.
In case you didn't know
Barcelona squandered a three-goal lead during the second leg of their Champions League semi-final fixture against Liverpool to dash their hopes of European glory once again.
The Champions League has evaded Barcelona more than once but this campaign was deemed to be the ultimate opportunity for the club to re-define themselves in Europe, owing to the exits of initial favourites like Real Madrid and Juventus.
On Wednesday, Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum put themselves on the record books of Liverpool after scoring a brace each to establish one of the most iconic comebacks in Champions League history at Anfield.
Much of the blame for Barcelona's defeat has gone to former Liverpool stars Coutinho and Suarez as well as manager Ernesto Valverde, whose future at the club is reported to be uncertain at the moment.
The heart of the matter
Ronaldo has slammed the unequal distribution of the blame stating that it is unfair to players and the coaching staff when Messi is only mentioned during the club's victories.
The Brazilian said (via Metro UK), "I see that Barcelona has a great team and has the best player in the world, which is Messi."
"The other day I heard that when they lose, it’s because of Valverde, Coutinho… but not Messi. And when they win, Barcelona win because of Messi. It’s a tremendous lack of respect to all the players and the coaching staff."
He added, "It’s a shame for Barcelona, because they played a great game in the first leg, we all enjoyed Messi. It’s a pity that there is not a Spaniard in the final, but Liverpool deserved it more."
What's next?
Barcelona will face Getafe and Eibar in LaLiga before they go head-to-head with Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on May 25.
