"This is a full grown man", "Why is he aggressive?" - Fans slam Lionel Messi for 'manhandling' Portugal star during 4-0 loss vs PSG

A video of Lionel Messi throwing his hand at Vitinha during PSG vs Inter Miami has gone viral online. The incident occurred in the first half when the Portugal midfielder passed the ball back to Nuno Mendes, while the Argentine superstar tried to close him down.

Fans were quick to spot Messi's arm swing towards the PSG star and called him out for his actions. While some were disgusted by the Inter Miami star, others said that he was doing it after getting frustrated on the pitch.

"Are we not going to talk about Messi just swinging his arm at Vitinha?" said a fan.

"Wait!!! Was that a punch he literally threw?? A frustrated punch?" added another.

"Tell me he didn’t try to swing on him at the end 😂😂 reminds me of that red card he got for Barca that one time", recalled a fan.

One fan was disgusted with the action and wrote:

"The way messi was man handling vitinha disgusted me, this is a full grown man"

Some were just confused and added:

"What was Messi trying to do?"

"Why is he aggressive? Is he pained?" said another fan.

One fan was convinced that if Cristiano Ronaldo were the player in action instead of Lionel Messi in the situation, the world would have been talking about it.

He said:

"If na Ronaldo throw that punch wey Messi throw now we no go hear word" [sic]

Inter Miami were knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday after a 4-0 loss to PSG. João Neves scored a brace while Achraf Hakimi sealed the win in the final minute of the first half, soon after an own goal from Tomás Avilés.

Lionel Messi expected Inter Miami's loss to PSG

Lionel Messi spoke to the media after the 4-0 loss to PSG and admitted that the Ligue1 side were a great side. He added that Inter Miami were expecting a tough match and a loss and said:

"PSG is a great team, the winners of the last Champions League, and the truth is they’re doing very very well. It was what we expected. It was the match we anticipated, we tried to do our best, and well, we left a good impression in terms of the Club World Cup.”

"There was a bit of a bitter feeling after the match with Palmeiras because we were winning 2-0, and we ended up drawing, which made us face this PSG team that’s much tougher. But it’s not a criticism, just a situation that could have been different because being up 2-0 and then conceding the equalizer with 10 minutes left left us with a bitter taste. I think we competed. Now that’s it, it’s over. We have to think about what’s coming next in our own tournament…"

Inter Miami return to MLS action this week after their elimination from the FIFA Club World Cup. Lionel Messi's side will be facing Montreal CF and will be looking to get back to winning ways.