Lionel Messi faces threat from Mexican Boxer Canelo Alvarez after what looked like the Argentine was stomping on a Mexico jersey after their win.
Messi of Argentina was allegedly threatened with violence by Mexican boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for allegedly stomping on a Mexico jersey during the team’s World Cup victory.
Messi was seen attempting to take off his cleats while kicking the Mexico jersey in a video of the Argentine team celebrating their first victory of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
After Saturday’s World Cup match, multiple world boxing champion and proud Mexican Canelo Alvarez warned Argentina forward Lionel Messi for insulting the Mexican flag.
After video of the Argentina captain was shown in the locker room during the post-match celebrations with a Mexico shirt in front of him on the floor, Messi earned the wrath of boxing legend Canelo.
By venting his anger at Messi on Twitter, Canelo blew the matter out of proportion.
“Did you guys see Messi cleaning the floor with our jersey and flag,” Alvarez tweeted. “He better pray to God that I don’t find him.
“Just like I respect Argentina, he has to respect Mexico! I’m not talking about the country as a whole, just about the bulls–t that Messi did.”
Did Lionel Messi really step on the Mexican flag?
There isn’t a single image of the Mexican flag during the entire clip, suggesting that Alvarez may have simply been miss-informed of what Messi did before frantically tweeting about it.
Messi appeared to have caught the shirt with his foot as he removed his footwear, which left Canelo unimpressed.
Messi clearly had no intention of kicking the Mexico jersey that was lying on the ground.
Due to the joyous celebration the players were experiencing, the Mexico jersey was possibly on the ground.
Although it is unknown which Mexico player switched jerseys with Messi, it is clear that “The Magic Man” is not responsible for what Canelo alleges.
Cesc Fabregas replies Canelo Alvarez
Cesc Fabregas, a former Spain international, criticized Canelo Alvarez for threatening to hit Lionel Messi.
In his criticism of Messi during their World Cup match on Sunday, Alvarez charged the Argentine captain with disrespecting Mexico.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup match between La Albiceleste and Mexico ended in a 2-0 La Albiceleste victory, and the Middleweight boxing champion alleged that PSG sensation Messi threw the Mexico flag to the ground and wiped the floor with it.
A closer look at the video, however, revealed that Messi was merely taking off his shoes after the match with the Mexican flag lying on the ground.
Canelo advised Messi to avoid interacting with him in public, but Fabregas, a former colleague of Messi at Barcelona, has since backed the Argentina captain.
“You neither know the person, nor do you understand how a locker room works or what happens after a game,” Fabregas wrote on Twitter.
Fabregas, a former player for Arsenal, Chelsea, and Barcelona, continued by stating that after games, players typically leave their shirts on the ground before having them picked up for washing.
Now, Messi and his colleagues will try to defeat the Robert Lewandowski-led Polish team in their upcoming match to secure their spot in the World Cup’s knockout rounds.
Who is Canelo Alvarez?
Santos Sal “Canelo” lvarez Barragán is a Mexican professional boxer who was born on July 18, 1990.
From light middleweight to light heavyweight, he has won many world titles in four different weight classes, including unified and lineal crowns in three of those weight classes.
Lvarez is the first and only boxer in history to win the WBA (Super), WBC, and Ring magazine titles since 2020, as well as the IBF and WBO crowns since 2021. He is the undisputed super middleweight champion.
Lvarez is renowned for being a skilled counterpuncher who can use head and body movements to evade strikes while taking advantage of gaps in his opponents’ guards.
He is also renowned for being a powerful body puncher.
Lvarez is currently ranked fourth by ESPN, five by the TBRB, and sixth by The Ring. BoxRec and the Boxing Writers Association of America rank him as the best active boxer in the world, pound for pound.
BoxRec, The Ring, TBRB, and ESPN all rank him as the top active super middleweight in the world.
