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Legendary Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez was livid with Lionel Messi after Argentina defeated Mexico in the group stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Messi scored during the 2-0 win. Later, a dressing room video of Argentina celebrating emerged where the forward could be seen stepping on the jersey of a Mexican player. Alvarez took it as a disrespect to his country.
He angrily reacted on Twitter by threatening Messi. The unified super middleweight champion wrote:
"Just as I respect Argentina, you have to respect Mexico!! I’m not talking about the country (Argentina); I’m talking about Messi because of the b*****b he gave.“
La Albiceleste defeated Poland in their next and penultimate group game. After the match, Lionel Messi was asked about Alvarez's comments. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner said:
"Those who know me know that I never disrespect anyone. That it’s something typical of a locker room what happened after that game to leave the shirt there, and that’s all there is to it… [So] I don’t even have to ask for forgiveness because I believe I didn’t disrespect [either] the people of Mexico, not the jersey…”
Canelo then went on to bury the hatchet with Messi. He issued an apology to the Argentine captain by writing on Twitter:
"These last few days, I got carried away by the passion and love I feel for my country and made comments that were out of place, for which I want to apologize to Messi and the people of Argentina. Every day we learn something new, and this time it was my turn.”
After Argentina were crowned world champions by defeating France via penalties in the final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, Canelo showed good sportsmanship by congratulating them. He tweeted:
"Congratulations Argentina, they deserved it.”
When will Lionel Messi and PSG return to action?
Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will return to action on April 30 as they take on Lorient in a Ligue 1 home clash. The Parisians are leading the league table with 75 points from 32 matches. They hold an eight-point lead over second-placed Olympique de Marseille.
Lorient, meanwhile, are 11th with 45 points from 32 matches. They have won none of their last five league games, losing three of them. Hence, on paper, it should be an easy outing for Lionel Messi and Co.
The Parisians enter the contest on the back of a 2-1 win against bottom-placed Angers. Kylian Mbappe was the main protagonist for Christophe Galtier's team in that much, finding the back of the net twice.
