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With Barcelona desperate to sign Lionel Messi to a longterm deal (his current contract expires in the summer of 2018), the club have reacted quickly to negative statements concerning Messi by their head of sporting relations, Pere Gratacos, by removing him from his post.
On Friday, Gratacos said, “Messi would not be as good without Iniesta, Neymar and co. He’s the best, this is true.”
With the club delicately approaching Messi’s renewal, Gratacos’ comments caused an unwelcome stir that the Barcelona hierarchy moved quickly to distance itself from.
“FC Barcelona have dismissed Pere Gratacos as head of institutional sporting relations with the Royal Spanish Football Federation for having publicly expressed a personal opinion that does not match that of the club after the draw for the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey held today in Madrid,” said a statement from the club. “The decision has been taken by Albert Soler, director of professional sports, who will assume these functions directly from now on.”
Comunicat del FC Barcelona sobre Pere Gratacós https://t.co/OdSDGsP3qP #FCBLive pic.twitter.com/RthClVY2j7
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) January 13, 2017
Gratacos, a former Barcelona B player, will continue to work for the club to some extent at the La Masia academy.
(H/T: Fox Sports)
