Whizkid Ilaix Moriba has slammed Barcelona, claiming they were telling lies in the press prior to his transfer to RB Leipzig.

The Blaugrana chose to sell the 18-year-old on deadline day instead of letting him leave for nothing next year with Leipzig snapping him up for an initial £13million fee.

And he is relieved to have moved on after being targeted with hateful messages from supporters.

He said: “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.

“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. The things that they have said in the press have not been fair.”