Atlanta United coach Tata Martino insists Lionel Messi doesn't select the team at Barcelona.
The Argentine had a difficult year in charge at the Nou Camp, but denies Messi had that much influence.
"That's just what people want to believe but no it isn't true," Martino told SuperDeportivo. "In short, journalism gives people what they want to hear. I've heard a lot of these situations in the past and coaches having to deny them.
"People like to believe that it happens but there is a lot of invention in all of that. Absolute facts are left out of the analysis when telling the truth of the story.
"We like to believe these things, that there are bad men who take charge of the situation and weaker ones who accept it and let it happen but I don't have much more to say about it."
Source: tribalfootball.com