Barcelona vs Athletic Spoke after contract leak
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R.Onald Koeman comes out in defense of Lionel Messi after his earnings Barcelona were completely revealed by El Mundo.
The Blaugrana captain opened the score against Athletics club on Sunday evenings with a fantastic freekick past Unai Simon.
“We’ve known for quite some time that he’s the best in the world,” Koeman said when asked about Messi full time.
“He has done a lot for the club. He is decisive in matches.
“He hasn’t been motivated today [because of the newspaper report].
‘You have to respect everything he has done.
“What happened is for bad intentions, to cause harm.
“We have to be united and focused. Things that get published have to be put aside, but it’s difficult.
“He’s a great player, he gives us creativity in attacking.
“You can’t strive much without Leo.”
The victory Athletic takes Barcelona second in LaLiga Santander, ten points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.
“The team is improving,” added Koeman.
“There is concentration, mindset … I’m not saying we didn’t have that before, but we grow in confidence.
“We had the ball in the first half. We could have scored more goals. The reaction and mentality were good after the equalizer.”
“It’s important to come second. We want to be as high as possible.
“The gap with the leaders is big, but we have to keep going.”