Lionel Messi 'Didn't Understand' Why Barcelona Refused To Use A Senior Player, Told Them Personally

Lionel Messi personally told Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic that he didn't understand why Ronald Koeman wasn't picking him.

Pjanic left the Catalan giants this summer and joined Besiktas on loan after feeling disrespected by manager Ronald Koeman.

The 31-year-old only arrived from Juventus last summer and started just six La Liga games last season - something that even baffled Messi.

"Besiktas wanted me strongly in the last days of the transfer market and I couldn't stay in Barcelona with Koeman, I would have lost another year and I didn't want to," Pjanic explained per Football Italia.

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"Koeman had an attitude with me that no one understood, not even Messi. Leo, last year, told me several times; 'But why doesn't he let you play? Has something happened?'"

Messi also left Barcelona in the summer after a two-decade association with the club.

Their desperate financial situation meant they couldn't afford to re-register him following the expiry of his contract.

Paris Saint-Germain swooped in to sign the six-time Ballon d'Or winner last month.

Pjanic has been vocal about his treatment under Koeman and even dubbed him 'very strange.'

"My situation was complicated from the beginning," the Bosnia and Herzegovina international told Spanish newspaper Marca. "I got there after two weeks away, started to train little by little, alone, to prepare myself to start with my teammates.

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"Three, four, seven, 10 days went by and the coach never came to talk about the season, about me, to speak about anything. It was strange, but fine.

"Time passed, I was feeling good and playing, but of course I wanted more. Then there's a point when I was playing less and things were complicated.

"It was tough physically and mentally and it killed my confidence because I had no communication with him. It was very strange.

"The coach is the one who says who plays and who doesn't, but there are ways of doing things.

"I'm a player who can take anything, but I'd like to be told to my face and not as if I'm a 15-year-old.

"I fought until the end, I was always professional with the lads, always working hard, for them too.

"I knew that if the coach stayed I'd have to find a solution."

Topics: Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a journalist for SPORTbible and he has previous experience with Manchester United. He has spoken to some of the biggest names in sport including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch, WWE COO Triple H and WWE legend The Undertaker. May or may not do a decent impression of Jamie Carragher.

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