RONALDINHO and Deco were sold by Barcelona because they “came to training drunk”. Former star Alexander Hleb made the sensational claims in an interview on Belarussian TV. The ex-Arsenal midfielder alleged that the decision was made to sell the two stars because the club “were afraid that they would bring down Messi.” Hleb told Voka […]
RONALDINHO and Deco were sold by Barcelona because they “came to training drunk”.
Former star Alexander Hleb made the sensational claims in an interview on Belarussian TV.
The ex-Arsenal midfielder alleged that the decision was made to sell the two stars because the club “were afraid that they would bring down Messi.”
Hleb told Voka TV: “Ronaldinho and Deco came to training drunk.
“That’s why Ronaldinho and Deco were sold in 2008.
“Because they were afraid that they would bring down Lionel Messi.”
At that time Messi, still just 21, was a reserve behind Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry, although he was showing signs of being a huge star.
In Pep Guardiola’s first summer in charge, Ronaldinho was sold to AC Milan and Deco to Chelsea as the new manager completed an overhaul of the squad.
Veterans such as Edmilson and Gianluca Zambrotta were also shipped out, while Lillian Thuram retired.
Hleb was one of seven players to arrive, in a £10million deal from Arsenal.
The Belarussian also revealed he didn’t really want to move to Barcelona.
“Frankly, I initially did not want to go to Barcelona at all,” he added.
“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.
“When I moved to Barca, I lived with Thierry Henry for a while.
“He said to me: ‘Stay until you find something. What is in the hotel? It’s boring’. And so I spent a month with him.
“He always said to me: ‘Why did you go to Barca?! Well, call me, I would explain everything!'”
Hleb won the Treble in his first and only season at the Nou Camp, before a loan spell in the Premier League with Birmingham City and time in the Bundesliga.
The playmaker, now 38, is not retired but left BATE Borisov at the end of the season.
