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Kepa Arrizabalaga: Lionel Messi once refused to be substituted for Barcelona

Rishabh Gupta
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Kepa Arrizabalaga is not the first player to refuse a substitution. Lionel Messi also once refused to be substituted under Luis Enrique.

Kepa Arrizabalaga stirred a massive controversy last night when he refused to come off for Willy Caballero in the final of the Carabao Cup.

Chelsea lost the game in penalty-shootout after the goalkeeper failed to prevent the loss, despite making a save.

Arrizabalaga’s reaction triggered a huge controversy with fans and pundits criticising the goalkeeper for his behaviour. The Spaniard issued a statement in his defence in the hours following the incident. He explained that the situation was misunderstood.

Chelsea’s manager Maurizio Sarri also spoke along the similar lines in the post-match press conference.

But, did you know that Lionel Messi has also once refused to come off as a substitute? Yes, you read that right. The Barcelona superstar defied his manager once in 2014, under the charge of Luis Enrique.

 

Barcelona were up against Eibar when Enrique decided to substitute Messi in the 76th minute of the game, moments after he scored the third goal for Barcelona in the game.

However, Messi raised his hand, suggesting that he wants to continue. The incident was followed by a rather concerning hand-waving from Luis Enrique, who talked to his coaching staff in an attempt to cover-up the situation.

Interestingly, Messi had scored his 250th La Liga goal in the game and needed only one more strike to equal the all-time goalscoring record in the history of the competition.

While Enrique refused to give a direct answer when asked about the incident in the post-match conference, he stated that he asks his players before making the change.

“Before making changes, we generally ask the players and we make the decision afterwards,” Enrique said at that time.

“What happened can be interpreted many ways, depending on who it serves. I will carry on doing what I have been doing.

“I have to take everything into account, but I trust in how he feels and what he tells me.

“Sometimes I look around me on the bench and think how lucky we are to have Messi. For us it is not just about what he does on the pitch. He is also a great motivator for his teammates.”

In the end, Enrique decided to bring off Neymar instead. Here’s the video:

About the author

Rishabh Gupta

Rishabh Gupta

A sports enthusiast. Sports, I believe, is one of the few powers which help us grow, both as an individual and society. With each day, in the rich world of sports, I grow.

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