The Argentina national team captain had a heated exchange with former Boca defender Carlos Zambrano during the second half of the win over Peru.
Lionel Messi played his final match of the year in Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Peru at La Bombonera, given Inter Miami’s early elimination from the MLS playoffs. He started, played the entire game and once again added an assist to his tally, continuing his record as the player with the most assists in the history of football.
Not only was he decisive in the action where Lautaro Martínez executed a fantastic pirouette to score the only goal of the match, but he also took the reins of the game when the Paraguayan team was defending very close to their goal, blocking the spaces and complicating the Argentine attack.
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Additionally, Messi once again showed his competitive side by pushing his team forward, engaging in arguments with his opponents and demanding yellow cards from referee Wilmar Roldán. In one of these arguments, he had a clash with ex-Boca central defender Carlos Zambrano.
The incident occurred during the second half when Messi attempted to shoot on goal, and Zambrano tackled him from behind. In the same breath, Zambrano collided with Messi after the ball was no longer in play. This situation annoyed the Argentine captain, who reacted immediately by asking animatedly: “What are you doing, idiot? ‘what are you doing, bobo?’
Fortunately, the exchange did not escalate, and Messi continued by taking the corner. The video quickly made the rounds on social media, with users drawing parallels to a similar insult he directed at Wout Weghorst at the end of Qatar’s World Cup quarter-final against the Netherlands.
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