Lionel Messi statement yet another sign of Barcelona squad's discontent with Josep Maria Bartomeu's board

Not even a goodwill gesture could hide the tensions between Barcelona's players and Josep Maria Bartomeu's board.

When Lionel Messi and the rest of the first-team squad released a statement on Monday to announce they had agreed to a 70 per cent reduction in their wages to help other employees at the club continue to earn their full salary amid the coronavirus crisis, it came with a not-so-subtle dig at the Camp Nou hierarchy.

“It does not cease to surprise us that from within the club there were those who tried to put us under the magnifying glass and tried to add pressure to us to do something that we always knew we would do,” the second paragraph of the statement said.

Those words suggest Barca had pressured the squad into an agreement, although Bartomeu denied it. "The players never refused to have their wages cut," he said. And he added: "From the first day, Messi told me that we had to do it."

Whatever did happen, it is clear the players are unhappy with how the situation was handled by the powers that be at Camp Nou. And it is nothing new; in fact it is the latest in a long line of fractures between Barca's players and the club's board.

Back in the summer, Gerard Pique criticised the pre-season schedule. "It's not easy to be ready because we have a pre-season with many trips and few training sessions," he said. Coach Ernesto Valverde was also displeased and suggested Athletic Club would be better prepared for the teams' LaLiga opener. They were. Athletic won 1-0 and two of Barca's best players, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez, picked up injuries at San Mames.

Ahead of the start of the season, midfielder Carles Alena was also unhappy that new signing Frenkie de Jong had been handed his shirt number without him being consulted. "I'd like to have received a message from the board because they promised De Jong my number without telling me," he said.

In September, Pique claimed the board had been leaking information about the players to the press after a revealing editorial appeared in Mundo Deportivo and said: "We have to be together. Otherwise we'll cause each other harm."

Later in the year, Arturo Vidal started legal proceedings against the club for alleged unpaid bonuses and although the case came to nothing, it served to highlight the disconnect between Barca's squad and their board.

In January, Bartomeu's decision to sack Valverde found favour with most of the club's fans, but the handling of the dismissal upset the players as negotiations with Xavi emerged and the former Athletic Club coach was left in limbo as Barca botched his exit and desperately sought a replacement after several said no.

The players accepted the decision to dispense with Valverde and appoint Quique Setien, but there was fury from the squad as sporting director Eric Abidal said in an interview that the players had not been working hard enough in training under their previous coach.

Messi vented his frustration on Instagram. “The players [are responsible] for what happens on the pitch and we are the first to admit when we haven't been good. The heads of the sports department have to take their responsibilities too and above all own the decisions they make," he wrote.

“Finally, I think that when players are talked about, names should be given because, if not, we are all being dirtied and it feeds comments that are made and are not true.”

That was in early February and around the same time, Ivan Rakitic complained about his treatment amid strong suggestions he was frozen out on orders from the top in an attempt to force his exit. "There were things I didn't like," he said. "The people who make the decisions know that."

Later in the month, after a depleted Barca drew 1-1 away to Napoli in the Champions League, Sergio Busquets gave a brutal assessment of the club's summer structuring. "The squad is short," he said. "Unfortunately, it was planned that way."

Soon after that came a much bigger scandal after it was reported that the Catalan club had been paying a social media firm to protect Bartomeu's reputation online and attack others, including Pique and Messi. "We'll have to see whether it's true or not," the Argentine said.

Bartomeu denied the claims and Pique said he believed his president, but once again the news did not paint the board in a positive light.

In an interview with La Vanguardia on Sunday, Xavi spoke of the importance of harmony. "Nobody toxic can be close to the dressing room," he said, hinting that is not the case right now. And asked if he would work with the current board, his reply was diplomatic but also revealing.

"I don't have a bad relationship with Bartomeu, I get on well with [Joan] Laporta and I'm friends with (presidential candidate) Victor Font," he said. With elections scheduled for next year, he seems well aware he is better off waiting until one of the others is introduced.

On top of everything, the Catalan club now face a financial crisis as Bartomeu admitted there has been no money coming in since March 14 because of the enforced break due to Covid-19.

With the players fed up and Barca lurching from one boardroom fallout to another, those elections cannot come soon enough.

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