He argues with team-mates and referees - Messi has changed a lot, claims former Barcelona boss Antic

Messi has changed a lot as he now argues with team-mates and referees, claims former Barcelona boss Antic

Apr 26, 2012 6:10:00 PM

The 63-year-old, who had a short stint at Camp Nou in 2003, believes that the Blaugrana's talisman has become increasingly surly in recent months

Former Barcelona coach Radomir Antic attacked Lionel Messi for a perceived change in the forward's demeanour, claiming the Argentine's alleged mood change has affected his performances of late.

While Messi is widely lauded for the way in which he conducts himself on the field, Antic believes that the three-time Ballon d'Or winner is now far more surly than he once was.

"He argues with team-mates and with referees' decisions," the Serb told Com Radio. "This Messi has changed a lot.

"You cannot dispute his quality but his state of mind in the last few months has not helped his abilities.

"Messi is now intermittent. He doesn't help recover the ball, the defensive work starts when the play finishes."

Antic also argued that the 24-year-old attacker went missing after striking the crossbar with a spot-kick early in the second half of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Chelsea.

"When you miss a penalty you are not just missing the penalty, you lose a player because he is affected by the miss," the 63-year-old declared.

Turning his attention to the current speculation over Pep Guardiola's future as Barcelona boss, Antic opined that the former Spain international should wait until the end of the season before making his mind up over whether to sign a new contract with the Catalan outfit.

"At this time there is still a long way to go, the final of the Copa [del Rey] is still there and making a decision now would not be right for a great coach and a club as big as Barcelona," he reasoned.

"But training Barcelona is not easy because even after so much success, there are always comparisons with the past."

Antic arrived at Camp Nou in January 2003 with the club in turmoil following the dismissal of Louis van Gaal and led the Blaugrana from 15th to 6th place by the season's end.

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