Former Barcelona player says 'many lies' were told during transfer saga

Former FC Barcelona player and La Masia graduate Ilaix Moribahas has been at the centre of a tumultuous transfer saga this summer. It all culminated in his last-minute move to Germany to join RB Leipzig, but he is not completely happy with the way things were handled. He openly criticised Barcelona for the way he was treated in the months leading up to his departure.

Last season, Barca manager Ronald Koeman helped the 18-year-old break into the first team. He made his debut and was evidently making a place for himself in Koeman's starting lineup. However, the club relegated him back into Barcelona B and refused to let him train with the first team after he rejected their initial contract renewal offer.

Later, he was also left out of Team B entirely, and was told that he would be left on the bench if he continued to refuse to sign a new deal. Unfortunately, the club left him with no choice as they were also unwilling to negotiate the terms of the agreement they were offering.

In the end, RB Leipzig offered a fee of 16 million euros, which the Catalan giants accepted. Moriba then faced the press for the first time since his name started being splashed all over the news for his refusal to renew.

"The last few months have been the hardest of my life, we [my family] have received abusive messages but we have been able to get over it to be here today. I don't deserve these messages," he said, as quoted by Marca.

He then went on to explain that the club had not been straightforward when it comes to the information that was made known to the public. "They [people at the club] have said many things that are not true and we have had to keep tight-lipped because of the respect that we have for Barcelona," he said, saying the recent reports have been unfair.

Moriba also slammed Barcelona fans for the way they had been acting amid the transfer saga. "I have improved at Barcelona with the support of the fans, but over the past few months they have not known how to behave," he said, clarifying that he is not speaking about the fan base as a whole.

He then went on to speak about the future, saying that he will give his best as a new Leipzig player. Lastly, he wished fellow La Masia graduate Ansu Fati the best of luck as he dons Lionel Messi's number 10 shirt.