Barcelona, Spain (My Sportsbook) - Lionel Messi has angrily denied reports which claim he has fallen out with Argentina coach Diego Maradona.

The Barcelona star is part of the Argentina side which has under-performed under Maradona during their qualification campaign for the World Cup.

But Messi has hit out at suggestions that he and the under-pressure coach do not see eye-to-eye.

"It is not true that he does not speak to me," he told Argentine radio. "Our relationship is fantastic and he is great with all the players."

Meanwhile, Messi has slammed suggestions that European-based players are only motivated by money and are letting their national team down.

He added: "To say that is horrendous. We all feel the shirt and nobody likes to lose, even less so with the national team.

"Saying it has to do with money is wrong. If we did not feel the shirt then we would not make the effort to play for Argentina and travel to Australia or wherever the team is playing.

"If it was an economic thing then every player would stay at home. The players in Europe all travel to play.

"We cannot continue to talk all this rubbish. We have to remain calm. This is a country that loves football and we have to stick together."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)