Former FC Barcelona player reveals Ronaldinho was sold to protect Lionel Messi

According to Alexander Hleb, Barcelona sold Deco and Ronaldinho in order to "protect" Lionel Messi after the two showed up for training intoxicated. Prior to their amazing run of success, both players were traded by Pep Guardiola from FC Barcelona, where they had previously been established first team stars.

When Pep Guardiola was originally appointed, Hleb joined the La Liga powerhouses in 2008. He remembers Ronaldinho and Deco as being unprofessional. He spoke to V Oka TV as he said, “Ronaldinho and Deco often came to training drunk. That’s why Ronaldinho and Deco were sold in 2008 – because they were afraid they would bring down Lionel Messi.”

The 38-year-old acknowledges that, despite experiencing success at Arsenal, joining Barcelona was an important turning point for his career. Hleb remains without a club despite not having formally retired from football, he was let go by BATE Borisov in June 2020.

He said, “Frankly, I initially did not want to go to Barcelona at all. I wanted to go to Bayern Munich or stay at Arsenal. But the agents were telling me to go as it was Guardiola who was calling. It was certainly a turning point.”

FC Barcelona mage decision regarding Marc-Andre ter Stegen

It has been stated that Barcelona has chosen to attempt and sign a custodian now instead of waiting for the January transfer market to reopen. After replacing Marc-Andre ter Stegen due to a catastrophic knee injury against Villarreal, the Catalans are looking to add another goalkeeper. At an interview on Tuesday, manager Hansi Flick stated that the team will talk about adding a replacement. 

The team has already begun reaching out to potential candidates in preparation for adding a free agent. The new hire is expected to support Inaki Pena, who is going to be the starter for the time being, as a backup. A number of possibilities, including Keylor Navas, Wojciech Szczęsny, and Claudio Bravo, who retired during the summer, have previously been floated.