"Traitor", "deserter" and "sell-out" were all used against Puyol by Catalan Twitter users, the AS newspaper reported . "Take the money and damn Catalonia," one Twitter user posted in response. Another said: "Embarrassing, Carles Puyol, I thought you loved your people more than money." But as The Local reports , some rejected the criticism, and compared it to the benign reaction to current Barcelona star Lionel Messi's recent conviction for tax fraud. "Messi steals from Spaniards - Catalans included - and Catalans applaud him. Puyol says he's Spanish: insults," one post said.