FC Barcelona striker Neymar and coach Luis Enrique played down reports that they were frustrated after Lionel Messi allegedly declined to be substituted during their 3-0 win against Eibar on Saturday at Camp Nou.

With Barcelona already ahead by three points in the final 15 minutes of the match, Enrique reportedly ordered Munir El Haddadi to replace Messi, but the Argentine reportedly declined to be substituted.

Instead, El Haddadi ended up replacing Neymar, who said on Tuesday that he was not offended by the incident, saying that he knew Messi was chasing the all-time La Liga goal-scoring record during the match.

"I wasn't annoyed at all," Neymar said in a news conference. "I understand that Leo is making history and, as a fan of his, I feel at his side. This forms part of football. You cannot always be on the pitch."

Enrique also played down the incident in an interview with ESPN FC, saying that what happened could be interpreted in many ways. He pointed out that he did not get mad when Messi opted to stay on the pitch, saying that he trusts the Argentine's decision-making.

"What happened can be interpreted many ways, depending on who it serves," Enrique said. "I will carry on doing what I have been doing. I have to take everything into account, but I trust in how he feels and what he tells me. Sometimes I look around me on the bench and think how lucky we are to have Messi. For us it is not just about what he does on the pitch. He is also a great motivator for his teammates."

Messi scored just one goal against Eibar, which put him one shy of tying Telmo Zarra's record of 251 La Liga goals, but Neymar is confident that his teammate will break the record soon, especially with the arrival of Luis Suarez.

"Leo is the best in the world," Neymar said. "And if you add Suarez to that then we can do important things for Barca. He will come in very hard, very strong and add good things."

Messi will look to tie or break the record when FC Barcelona collides with Real Madrid on Saturday - the first La Liga Clasico of the 2014-15 season.

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