It’s not every day that you hear world champion football player Lionel Messi acting unsportsmanlike and upsetting his fans to the point where other professional athletes threaten to beat up the Argentinian striker.
World boxing champion Canelo Alvarez has caused an online feud by calling out Lionel Messi for disrespecting Mexico after a video was shared online where Messi seemed to have kicked away a Mexican football jersey.
The footage showed a Mexican shirt on the floor in front of where Messi was sitting in their locker room in the aftermath of their celebratory win 2-0 which captured Messi picking up the jersey with his foot as he kicked off his boot, angering Mexican supporters.
Vieron a Messi limpiando el piso con nuestra playera y bandera ????
— Canelo Alvarez (@Canelo) November 28, 2022
Alvarez was fast to point out his anger and warned the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner it’s better that he does not run into him as he will beat up Lionel for what he demonstrated to his Mexican fans.
Canelo furiously took to Twitter by tweeting, “Did you guys see Messi cleaning the floor with our jersey and flag? He better pray to God that I don’t find him.”
“Just like I respect Argentina, he has to respect Mexico! I’m not talking about the country as a whole, just about the bulls**t that Messi did.”
Canelo had some strong words for Messi after seeing his locker room celebration 👀
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) November 28, 2022
(via @canelo, nicolasotamendi30/IG) pic.twitter.com/emRRHK1nGO
Messi is unknown to act with mal intentions, and most of his sports fans know this as the Paris Saint-Germain player has a reputation for being amongst footballers with integrity and high standards of demonstrating good sportsmanship.
There are two sides to any story, and although no one will know Messi’s true intentions of what he meant by his actions, the internet was quick to come to his defense.
Argentinian fans were left stunned by the outburst.
‘He’s [Alvarez] just looking for attention since he’s no longer relevant. Honestly, I never heard of him till now,’ one fan posted.
‘He clearly taking off his shoes,’ replied another.
‘All the punches Canelo took in his career are finally catching up to his brain. It’s not working anymore,’ added another.
Even Mexican supporters were finding it difficult to back Alvarez’s claims, with most agreeing the Argentinian star was simply taking off his boots after the game.
‘They want to break [his] b*lls and take everything out of context, they are in the locker room celebrating and they are taking off their boots. Messi is the most humble and never denigrated anyone,’ one fan posted.
‘He was taking off his shoes,’ said another.
‘I agree with you, Messi is going to take off his boot and accidentally touches the shirt, they are taking all this out of context,’ agreed another.
Some Mexican fans bought into the hysteria, though, insisting that Messi intentionally disrespected their flag.
‘Surely they stepped on it and did what they wanted in the locker room and it was left on the floor, it’s a pity that they represent their country that way, the total admiration I had for them fell apart,’ one fan replied to Alvarez.
Messi himself was relieved to have scored the vital match-winner that keeps his nation’s World Cup hopes alive after their shock 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia in the opening game of Group C.
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