Pep Guardiola’s assistant Mikel Arteta has been pinpointed to be the one who was in a tunnel tussle with Barcelonastar, Lionel Messi.
Messi allegedly called a Manchester City player ‘stupid’ after they both exchanged words in the tunnel after their Champions League game on Wednesday, November 2.
It has not been reported that the person who provoked Messi was Arteta, who is an assistant coach to Guardiola at City.
playLionel Messi allegedly called Mikel Arteta 'stupid' during the altercation (Simon Stacpoole / Offside)
After City 3-1 win over Barcelona, Messi was said to have waited outside the referee room when Arteta confronted him.
“Anda tontorrón, vete y métete en tu vestuario,” Arteta reportedly said which translates to “Move along stupid, get yourself in your dressing room.”
“Bobo, vení y da la cara!” Messi reportedly shouted back; which translates to “come over here and say that to my face, stupid.”
Manchester City midfielder Fernandino was said to have also provoked Messi but the Brazilian midfielder took to his Twitter to debunk the reports.
“I just want to say that the rumours that are circulating in the media are absurd: I didn't even have contact with any Barcelona players or technical staff after the game,” he posted on Twitter.
“Instigating and provoking are not in my nature, bearing in mind that I put a lot of importance on showing respect both on and off the pitch, regardless of the opposition or player in question.””
Messi’s international teammate Sergio Aguero was said to have waded in to calm the 29-year-old.
playSergio Aguero was the one that calmed Messi (Richard Calver/REX/Shutterstock)
Reacting to the incidence, Aguero who grabbed an assist for City in the 3-1 win understood that his friend was just disappointed in losing the game.
"I saw him there, he was feeling bad. I know him well enough to know when he's bad when he's good. But when you lose, nobody's good," Aguero told reporters.
"[I saw] nothing. I thought Messi said something to me but he didn't, and then we [the other players] talked about other stuff.
"[It was] nothing serious. I heard something but I don't know what happened.
"When someone loses you have to respect them. Leo wasn't in the mood to talk and I respect that."
