Lionel Messi did not start for FC Barcelona during their 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday, which stirred different speculation on social media.
Messi came off the bench and just saw 30 minutes of playing time, but the Argentine superstar made the most out of it as he scored the game-winning goal for FC Barcelona, who are on top of the standings after sweeping their first three games of the 2015-16 La Liga season.
Fellow superstar Neymar reacted on the decision to play Messi off the bench. He said they struggled to get into their rhythm early in the game, but everything changed when the four-time Ballon d'Or winner came into the match.
"Everything is better with him on the pitch," Neymar told Movistar, referring to Messi. "We got a quick equaliser which was very important. Messi then came on and he always makes the difference. We went on to win the game."
Meanwhile, veteran midfielder denied speculation that Messi did not like Luis Enrique's decision to bench him on Saturday. Iniesta said that he sees nothing wrong with the decision to make Messi come off the bench because the FC Barcelona superstar travelled a lot for the Argentine national squad.
"Leo is a unique player who can make the difference, which he did once again [Saturday]. I am really happy for him and for the team," Iniesta told Sport. "It's normal [to be on the bench] after so much travelling [with Argentina] and all that's happened over the last few days."
Enrique also cleared the air and insisted that Messi did not take the benching negatively. The FC Barcelona coach revealed that he actually talked to Messi before the match about his plan. He said he decided to keep the 28-year-old off the starting lineup because they did not want to take a huge health risk.
"I talked with Leo before the game," Enrique told Sport. "He's important for us, so we didn't want to take any risks. He has been travelling a lot."
Enrique and Messi have been linked to several issues since FC Barcelona decided to hire the former. Previous reports indicated that Messi wanted out of Camp Nou because of his issues with Enrique, but Barca have already quashed reports about it numerous times.
