Messi accused of refusing to play with Coutinho at Barcelona

Lionel Messi has been accused of refusing to play with Barcelona team-mate, Philippe Coutinho.

Coutinho played the full 90 minutes as Barcelona made it eight wins on the spin on Sunday, with a 2-0 win over Girona.

The Brazilian, who has had a difficult campaign at the Nou Camp, started on the left of Barca’s attacking three with Ousmane Dembele sidelined.

He struggled to make much of an impact, particularly in the first half, as Nelson Semedo opened the scoring.

The Brazilian was clearly trying to work on his relationship with left-back Jordi Alba, but was on the periphery for the large part.

Sport reports, that for some fans, it was a case of Coutinho ‘getting in the way’ – or his teammates opting against giving him the ball.

Alba and Messi combined to full effect to secure Barca’s second of the match against Girona.

Luis Suarez sent the Spanish left-back flying down the left and Alba slid the ball across for Messi.

The Argentine took his time before lobbing the keeper and scoring for the sixth game in a row.

Coutinho’s lack of involvement in the goal, had plenty of Barca fans talking.

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