There's general agreement that he's the best player in the world right now but Lionel Messi was lucky to escape a red card embarrassment after he threw a headbutt, and grabbed the neck of his marker during a 'friendly' between Barcelona and Roma.
The 'friendly' nature of Barcelona's match with Roma appeared to pass Lionel Messi by last night.
The four-time Ballon d'Or winner was involved in a nasty altercation with opposing player Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa for which Messi was lucky to escape the embarrassment of a red card.
With the visiting team to the Nou Camp trailing 1-0 to Neymar's opener, French international Mapou lost his temper with Messi and leant his head in towards the Argentina star.
It didn't go down well with the little magician who responded by throwing his head at his much taller opponent before grabbing Mapou by the throat. The pair needed to be broken up, with Roma's Brazilian defender Leandro Castan standing in as peacemaker.
Under normal circumstances Spanish referee Javier Estrada Fernandez would have shown little hesitation in sending the pair off, but instead opted to show yellow cards due to the status of the match. Messi then scored seven minutes later in the 41st minute after Neymar had opened the scoring heading for the half hour mark. Champions League final goalscorer Ivan Rakitic then netted the final goal at the Nou Camp in the 66th minute to complete a 3 nil win for Barca. As Today FM morning man Ian Dempsey pointed out we don't know what was said to prompt the Argentinian into action but it's not like him!
Alright Leo, simmer down son... #Messi #Barca #CalmDown https://t.co/6o7SMlUU1x
— My Racing Tips (@myracingtips) August 6, 2015
