"Messi didn't want to train if he had been on bench or subbed off"

Messi is a footballing genius but he does also have some negative qualities. In France, a documentary made by 'RMC Sport' on the PSG player has focussed on the star's personality and his strange way of acting off the field when he was playing for Barca.

It was Alexandre Julliard, author of the book 'Insubmersible Messi', who revealed surprising things about his personality: "He was a difficult person to deal with. He's very reserved and had a communication problem. He didn't tell you things directly."

"When something annoyed him, he used to send someone as a messenger to deal with the problem," Julliard continued. He also revealed that Pep Guardiola had to go on the odd occasion to the Argentinian's house to talk to him about his anger about being substituted or left on the bench. 

"If one day he was on the bench or had been replaced, he didn't want to train the next day. Pep Guardiola used to say 'I'm going to lose him'. So he got his car and went to his house to speak to him. This seems crazy nowadays," Julliard continued. 

"That was his way of asking for help. Going to his home, talking to him and calming him down."

In the documentary, they reached the conclsion that the now Man City coach is the person who has best been able to handle his difficult personality and they recalled how Pep let him go to the 2008 Olympic Games because it was his dream. That was despite the fact Barca were fighting to get into the Champions League and the coach had just arrived at the club.