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Last week, Quique Setien claimed that Lionel Messi was 'difficult to manage'. A whopping 72% of Marca readers have agreed with the comments made by the former Barcelona manager.
However, it must be noted that Marca is a Madrid-based newspaper and the votes were on their website. Real Madrid supporters would have cast the majority of the votes, and only a small portion of the poll would have been determined by Barcelona fans.
Quique Setien claimed that the Argentine is the best player of all time, but it wasn't easy to manage him because of how he plays. The manager added that he had to do things differently to accommodate Lionel Messi and what he did on the pitch. He was talking to El Pais when he was quoted saying:
"I think Lionel Messi is the best of all time. There have been other players who have been great, but the continuity that this boy has had throughout the years has not been had by anyone. Leo is difficult to manage. Who am I to change him, if they have accepted him as he is for years and have not changed him."
"There's another facet beyond just the player and it's more difficult to manage. It's something inherent in many athletes that can be seen in the Michael Jordan documentary ("The Last Dance"). You see things you don't expect. He's very reserved but he makes you see the things that he wants. He doesn't talk much," said Setien.
Quique Setien was sacked by Barcelona this summer and was replaced by Ronald Koeman. The move has not been great for the club so far as the new manager has not hit the ground running.
Barcelona are 12th in the table right now with two matches in hand. Even with wins in those matches, they can only move to 7th as they have already lost twice - including a 3-1 loss to arch-rivals Real Madrid in the El Clasico last month.
There is a long way to go in the league with over 30 matches left to be played for each side. Barcelona need to find their groove quickly or they are bound to fall behind.
Off the pitch events are making life more difficult for Ronald Koeman at the club. The president resigned recently and the next elections are reportedly set to take place in January.
