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What's the story?
Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain star Marquinhos has responded to Lionel Messi's criticisms of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and his accusations regarding their favoritism towards the Selecao in the Copa America 2019.
The defender turned the tables on the Argentina captain by accusing him of receiving plenty of favoritism at Barcelona himself.
In case you didn't know...
In recent weeks, Messi has been making the headlines for his bold accusations against the CONMEBOL, claiming that the 2019 edition of the Copa America had been set up for Brazil to win.
The 32-year-old initially accused the tournament's referees of favoritism after a penalty call was overlooked during their 2-0 loss to Brazil in the semi-finals. The Argentina captain slammed the decisions as "bullsh**" and pleaded with CONMEBOL to do something about it.
The Barcelona maestro was once again embroiled in controversy after their third-place play-off against Chile, during which he was sent off after an altercation with Gary Medel. The Barcelona star refused to accept his bronze medal after the game and instead spoke to reporters in an angry rant accusing the confederation of corruption and favoritism.
The heart of the matter
After winning the Copa America title with Brazil, Marquinhos took time to address Messi's comments, accusing him of receiving favors with Barcelona as well. He said,
"It's a shame, it's frustrating that statement he gave. He is admired by all the players who play with him or against him. All of them like him. He was very unhappy with that statement. I did not like what he said as well as others of the team did not like it.
"If he lost, he has to swallow dry and know how to lose, just as we lost at the World Cup to Belgium. He was very unhappy in the statement. When there were also refereeing errors in favor of Barcelona and the Argentine national team, perhaps, and I have never seen him speaking of corruption then. He must know how to lose.
"At this point, it was obvious that the referee should have been enough to shuffle the game, and he could not do without the referee. there were mistakes, we also have to know how to understand."
What's next?
Brazil won the Copa America title after establishing a 3-1 victory over Peru in the final on Sunday.
