Joey Barton bafflingly claims ‘genetically engineered’ Lionel Messi should have an ASTERISK next to his titanic achievements because of the treatment the World Cup winner received as a child for a rare growth hormone deficiency .

Joey Barton has launched his latest tirade at Lionel Messi, claiming there should be an asterisk next to his name because of the treatment he received as a child to combat a rare growth hormone deficiency.

Messi is considered one of the greatest footballers to ever play, having won eight Ballon d’Ors and dominated the sport for over a decade.

His exploits at Barcelona have seen him become the club’s greatest player and top scorer, while also leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022 – their first major tournament victory since Diego Maradona’s side in 1986.

However, according to former Premier League midfielder Barton, Messi’s name should have an ‘asterisk’ as he believes the icon was ‘genetically altered’ thanks to the treatment he was given early in his career footballer.

Speaking on his Common Sense podcast, the outspoken Barton said of the Argentine: “He’s an asterisk to me,” before continuing to explain to his co-hosts.

Joey Barton thinks Lionel Messu should have a big asterisk next to his achievements

Barton has claimed that Lionel Messi was “genetically modified” thanks to the growth treatment he underwent as a child.

Messi was just 10 years old when he was diagnosed with a rare growth hormone deficiency.

“There’s a big asterisk on Messi’s name for me, because he took steroids and stuff from a very young age to disrupt his growth.

“Messi was genetically modified from a young age, so there must be an asterisk next to his name.

“He was given growth hormone and all sorts of medications to help him grow. As far as I know, no one else has done this. So if you had let him grow naturally and let him participate in roasting – or whatever – he wouldn’t have been big enough to finish what he ended up doing.

Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at the age of 10, which threatened to derail his already obvious path to football stardom.

The treatment cost $1,000 a month, paid for two years by Messi’s father’s health insurance, but then it was unable to continue funding what his son needed.

The story then goes that Messi’s father found a job in the city and eventually arranged a trial for his son in Barcelona, ​​where their medical team would help him and tell the rest of his football story.

From this, Barton deduced that the 36-year-old had had a head start in his abilities and therefore there should be a question mark over his name.

Messi’s family did everything they could to ensure he could fulfill his star potential

The Argentine has become one of the best of all time and a World Cup winner in 2022.

Messi is not the first name Barton has spoken out against in recent months, with the former Man City and Newcastle player taking particular aim at female footballers with a series of outlandish comments.

He accused the BBC’s Alex Scott of bringing Football Focus “to the ground” as a presenter, and also took several shots at pundit Eni Aluko, questioning his ability to talk about men’s football among several remarks and sexist attacks against the former English footballer.

Sexist comments were also made against the England Lionesses and in particular Mary Earps, who he claimed could score 1,000 out of 1,000 penalties against the national team’s number one.