“Go back to streaming” - Lionel Messi’s ex-teammate visibly annoyed after Rodrigo De Paul mocks him on the pitch

Lionel Messi's former teammate Arturo Vidal was visibly displeased after Rodrigo De Paul mocked him during a recent game. The incident occured during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers between Argentina and Chile at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos on June 5.

La Albiceleste took the lead in the 16th minute through Julian Alvarez. Vidal and De Paul were both in the starting XI and clashed continuously all through the first half.

Things boiled over in the 37th minute, with the Chilean receiving a yellow card for a crunching tackle on Rodrigo De Paul. Vidal, as such, will miss the next game against Bolivia.

Argentina, meanwhile, have already secured qualification to next year's mega event, but showed no signs of slowing down. Interestingly, they even managed the win with Lionel Messi starting from the bench.

At half time, with La Albiceleste leading, De Paul was seen mocking Vidal by mimicking typing on a keyboard, and signaling an imaginary monitor with the flick of his wrists.

As per All About Argentina, the 31-year-old said:

"Go back to streaming."

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For reference, Arturo Vidal has his own Twitch and YouTube Channel, where he streams games. Rodrigo De Paul has a history of riling up his opposition, and couldn't miss the opportunity to take a swipe at the 38-year-old.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi came off the bench in the 57th minute to replace Nico Paz. La Pulga, however, is expected to be in the starting XI when Argentina face Colombia next week.

How many games has Lionel Messi played with Rodrigo De Paul?

Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul have shared the pitch 61 times for Argentina to date, winning 46 games and losing just five. They have even contributed one goal together.

De Paul and Messi have both been integral to La Albiceleste's recent success. Together, they have won the Copa America in 2021 and 2024, the Finalissima in 2022, and the coveted 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The two teammates share a close bond, with De Paul regularly coming out to express his admiration for La Pulga. Interestingly, the two of them have also been on the opposite ends of the pitch on two occasions, both in club football.

Messi was part of the Barcelona team that won 0-1 away to De Paul's Valencia in the league in the 2014/15 season. The two met again the following season, where Valencia managed a 1-1 draw at home.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Nihal