Luis Enrique refuses to tolerate tardiness in his Barcelona camp and has taken to fining Lionel Messi and his team-mates up to £1,200 per match if they arrive just one minute late.
The Barca manager believes punctuality is key as he builds on his early lead at the top of the La Liga table, and Enrique will not shy away from cracking the whip at the Nou Camp.
Turning up late on days of Barcelona matches will see Enrique slap the player with a £300 fine, before doubling to £600 and £1,200 for the second and third offences respectively.
Fines for turning up late to training, meetings and other appointments are not punished as harshly, according to Mundo Deportivo. One-hundred-and-fifty pounds for the first, and £300 and £600 for any after.
It may seem like a drop in the ocean for Messi, on £292,000 per week, but Enrique wants to limit any delays as he looks to snatch the La Liga title from Atletico Madrid.
Enrique may have learned the trick from Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, who fined players at Ajax if they arrived late for breakfast at the Dutch club – and double if it happened again.
Maarten Meijer’s biography revealed the new man at Old Trafford’s strict nature, and Van Gaal has already ordered his new players to eat together after installing £500,000 worth of HD cameras at United’s Carrington training HQ.
Enrique’s fines did little to help Barcelona on Wednesday night as they relinquished their 100 per cent record in La Liga, being held to a 0-0 stalemate against Malaga.
The Barca boss, though, still shares the top spot with Sevilla on 13 points apiece after five games.
Enrique won’t be best pleased that his side failed to register a single shot on target, though – the same day Luis Suarez scored twice for Barcelona B against Indonesia’s Under 19s.
Source: Daily Mail