The Argentine recently made his return after injury (Picture: Getty)
The assistant coach of Mexican team Monterrey has apologised after leaked audio revealed he called Lionel Messi a ‘possessed dwarf’.
Messi made a scoring return from injury on Saturday as Inter Miami were held to a 2-2 home draw by Colorado Rapids.
However, his comeback was overshadowed by the controversy that embroiled him after Miami’s 2-1 midweek loss against Monterrey in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Despite not being fit for the game, Messi – along with Miami coach Tata Martino and several other key players – were reportedly involved in a post-match confrontation with Monterrey assistant coach Nico Sanchez.
The bust-up occurred after a feisty first-leg affair in Miami, with Sanchez later caught on audio recounting the incident and hurling insults at the former Barcelona forward.
‘The dwarf was possessed, he had the face of the devil,’ Sanchez said of Messi in the leaked audio clip.
‘He put his fist next to my face and said: “Who do you think you are?” But because I didn’t look at him, I was looking away, I never answered back, it made things worse.
Monterrey and Inter Miami played out a feisty game in the Concacaf Champions Cup (Picture: Getty)
‘And Tata Martino, what a poor dummy, I had him in front of me telling me: “Fool, you going to cry? Fool you going to cry?” What a dummy!
‘All those videos, they probably erased them all because it leaves them looking bad. What they did was really serious. They want to dirty the pitch.’
Sanchez has since released a video apologising for the comments but did not mention Messi by name.
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‘Since I do not know the Inter coach, Gerardo Martino, and I referred to him in a disrespectful manner, and I apologise,’ he said.
‘I am as Argentine as all of them and I will always defend my club. I’m here to show my face and take charge.’
Messi will look to help his side overturn their first-leg deficit when the sides meet for the second leg on Wednesday.
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