sportbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

When Lionel Messi Humiliated Royston Drenthe For Trying Skills In Front Of Him

When Lionel Messi Humiliated Royston Drenthe For Trying Skills In Front Of Him

Messi and Drenthe have had a mini-feud of sorts over the years...

Daniel Marland

Daniel Marland

Lionel Messi isn't the kind of footballer who would purposely humilate his opponents - but the one time he did it was a sight to behold.

The Barcelona star was playing against Dutch side Hercules in a pre-season friendly back in 2010 and he came up against Royston Drenthe.

Drenthe, on loan from Real Madrid at the time, attempted to strut his stuff in front of the Argentine but managed to stumble while performing some stepovers.

Unluckily for him, Messi lurked in the background and picked up the loose ball, before leaving the Dutchman in the dust with some lovely close control.

Fans have commented on the video and they are in awe at what Messi managed to produce.

One stated: "That is probably THE most amazing thing I've ever seen in football. This is nearly impossible to replicate, let alone in an official match."

A second added: "Am I the only one who viewed this a couple of times and still can't understand what he did?"

While a third simply stated: "He's one of the best players in the world! That I can't deny."

The duo actually got into a small altercation during Hercules' shock 2-0 victory.

Drenthe got under Messi's skin and he astonishingly accused the current Barcelona captain of being racist towards him.

Image
PA


Royston Drenthe (right) representing Real Madrid in the Champions League. (Image
PA)

"I played against [Messi] many times and we always have problems with each other," Drenthe told Dutch magazine Helden per BBC back in 2012.

"You know what bothers me so? That tone with which he always says, 'n**ro, n**ro'. I understand that n**ro in South America is very common, but we cannot stand it.

"When Hercules played Barcelona, during the game I had a small altercation with him. He gave me a hand in the match and again said a few times, 'hola n**ro'.

"Mahamadou Diarra, my team-mate at Real, could explode if 'n**ro' was aimed at him. The Argentineans Gabriel Heinze and Gonzalo Higuain said it initially on the training ground, but they were stopped."

Image
PA

Barcelona strongly denied the claims.

Drenthe, meanwhile, has recently returned to football despite retiring in 2016.

He was released from UAE Pro League side Baniyas and decided to hang up his boots aged 29.

But he's since made a return and recently signed a deal at Dutch third division side Kozakken Boys.

Featured Image Credit: yo0o0oky/YouTube

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi