FILE - In this April 9, 2011 file photo, FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi from Argentina, celebrates after scoring during his Spanish La Liga soccer match against Almeria at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain. On Friday, Dec. 20, Messi criticized a Barcelona vice president who said he doesn't deserve a better contract. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
December 20, 2013 - 7:09 AM
BARCELONA, Spain - Lionel Messi criticized a Barcelona vice-president on Friday for saying the Argentina forward didn't deserve a better contract.
Javier Faus, the vice-president in charge of Barcelona's finances, said two weeks ago he didn't see a reason to further extend Messi's contract. Last year, the club extended the 26-year-old Messi's contract through 2018.
"Mr. Faus is a person that doesn't know anything about football and wants to run Barcelona like a business, which it isn't," Messi told Catalan radio RAC1. "Barcelona is the best team in the world and deserves to be represented by the best executives.
"I remind him that neither I nor any of my representatives have asked for a contract extension at any moment, and he knows that very well."
Messi is Barcelona's all-time leading scorer and a four-time FIFA world player of the year. He is in Argentina recovering from a hamstring injury and expected to return to Barcelona in January.
Messi rarely speaks about the business side of his career. This is the first time he has openly criticized an important board member of the club he joined when he was 13 years old.
Barcelona president Sandro Rosell said Thursday that he had not spoken to Messi about his contract, while adding "but my door is always open. I have no doubt that the best player in the world deserves to be the highest paid."
News from © The Associated Press, 2013