Papers: Lionel Messi likened to Che Guevara amid Barcelona pay cuts

Lionel Messi is all over the front pages across Europe on Tuesday after the captain released a statement confirming Barcelona pay cuts and hit out at the club’s board at the same time.

The most eye-catching headline of all comes from French daily L’Equipe which has Messi pictured as none other than Che Guevara. The headline reads: Lionel Messi, the Che of Barca.

Messi is also all over Marca where his shirt number has been changed to 70%, indicating the pay cuts agreed by the players, and the headline reads: Barcelona are ending Messi’s patience.

AS have Lionel Messi and the whole squad on their cover. The headline is ‘They Say Enough’ alluding to Monday’s statement which expressed frustration at the criticism the players had received for not announcing reductions earlier.

Sport’s front page shows Messi and a simple headline of ‘Thanks.’ The Catalan daily also has an exclusive interview with Bartomeu who says Messi told him salary cuts would be needed from the start.