Lionel Messi is known for defeating the opposition on the pitch but Marseille centre back Alvaro Gonzalez revealed the Barcelona forward can also defeat them with his words too.
Former Espanyol defender Gonzalez was speaking to RMC about an exchange he had with Messi, when he commented on the Barca forward's height, and found himself stung by a brilliant comeback, saying, "It is quite a funny anecdote. It was period where we had three consecutive derbies between Espanyol and Barcelona. Matches of great intensity.
"We used to banter each other back and forth. I said to him: 'You are really small, miniscule.' He looks at me and responds: 'You, you are really bad at football.' I had the final word: 'Yes, we are both right.' We laughed together and this story brought about a lot of smiles in Spain."
'Alvaro,' as he's best known, arrived in France to sign for Marseille from Villarreal last summer, on loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season, and helped the side finish in second, with Ligue 1 not coming back after the pandemic enforced break.
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In the interview in September he explained that he'd been surprised by the passion of the fans, saying, "What surprised me the most is the passion for football that I have seen in the stadiums. I have only experienced two matches at the Vélodrome. The last was against St Étienne and it was certainly the most amazing experience I have ever had in a stadium.
"The two matches away from home, at Nice and Nantes, also surprised me in terms of atmosphere. It was loud and intense. And thus very motivational for us on the pitch."
The French league confirmed on Saturday that the new season is set to start on August 22nd, after it declared PSG as champions for the 2019/20 season earlier this month.
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It became the first, and so far only, of the top five leagues to end its season early. The Bundesliga returned last week and Spain, Italy and England are all set to follow suit.
Messi is set to be back in action from around June 12th with La Liga given the all clear to get going in the middle of next month.
Before the season was paused due to the pandemic it had been far from the 32-year-old's best season, with 'only' 19 league goals so far.
Barca do still lead the way in La Liga, despite losing to Real Madrid not long before the enforced break, but need to comeback strong in order to keep hold of the title.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Marseille, Football News, Barcelona, Ligue 1, Lionel Messi, Spain, France, La Liga