Argentinian boxing legend Marcos Maidana trolls Canelo with Lionel Messi mask

A bunch of big-name sports stars are leaping to the defence of Argentine legend Lionel Messi after his spat with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.

The likes of Sergio Aguero and Santiago Ponzinibbio have come out to bat for their fellow countryman.

Now perhaps the hardest individuals Argentina has ever produce has got involved too.

The beef started when Canelo sensationally accused Messi of using a Mexican flag to clean the dressing room floors following Argentina's 2-0 win over Mexico at the 2022 World Cup.

Footage from the changing room celebrations showed Messi ever-so-slightly kicking what appeared to be a red, white and green Mexico flag.

The video didn't sit well with Canelo, though, who took to social media to threaten the football megastar with violence.

"Saw Messi cleaning the floor with our jersey and flag. He should ask God that I don't find him," the boxer tweeted.

"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."

Canelo had some strong words for Messi after seeing his locker room celebration 👀

(via @canelo, nicolasotamendi30/IG) pic.twitter.com/emRRHK1nGO

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) November 28, 2022

But it seems Messi is in safe hands under the watchful eye of his fellow compatriot Marcos Maidana.

The former boxing world champion took to Instagram to show his support, posting a picture of himself wearing a Messi mask while enjoying a cigar and a beverage.

The mask may be grinning from ear-to-ear, but you can probably imagine Maidana himself has a stone-cold look in his eye.

"Let's go Messi! Stands hand in hand with anyone," the caption translates to.

According to WBN, he also wrote: "Messi is waiting for Canelo."

Former two-weight world champ Maidana famously came close to handing Floyd Mayweather his first ever defeat in the first fo their bouts back in 2014.

So while Canelo is boxing's current pound-for-pound, it'd be advised not to get on Maidana's wrong side.

Besides, there's also plenty of other Argentinians who aren't best pleased with Canelo's comments.

"I was p**sed! No point threatening Messi. Everybody knows Messi’s career. If [Canelo] doesn’t know he shouldn’t say a thing. It’s normal for players to throw jerseys on the ground, they are all sweaty, but he didn’t do anything disrespectful," Ponzinibbio told MMA Fighting.

"Everybody that knows Messi knows he’s an impeccable athlete and a very respectful person.

"[Messi] had an excellent match. I was upset. Brother, if you want to fight, I’m ready, but leave Messi be. You mess with Messi, you mess with the entire Argentina. Don’t bother the kid."

Argentina and Manchester City icon Aguero also weighed in on the matter.

"Mr. Canelo, don't look for excuses or problems, surely you don't know about soccer and what happens in a locker room," Aguero tweeted.

"The shirts are always on the floor after the games are over due to sweat and then if you see well, he makes the movement to remove the boot and accidentally hits it."