Barcelona New Boy Junior Firpo Once Bragged That He Could ‘Probably Break Both Of Lionel Messi’s Legs’

Junior Firpo's old tweets have come back to haunt him after the Barcelona new boy bragged that he could break both of Lionel Messi's legs.

The Spanish champions snapped up the Dominican Republic-born left-back, 22, from Real Betis for a fee that could rise to £27.5m.

But Firpo, who penned a five-year deal with Barcelona, could face an awkward encounter with club captain Messi, 32, thanks to some old tweets that have resurfaced.

The Spain Under-21 international sent out the tweets in 2012 when he was 15 years old.

According to Spanish newspaper Diario AS (via a translation from the Sun), Firpo boasted that he could "probably break both of Messi's legs" with "one kick."

And the Barcelona new boy apparently called the five-time Ballon d'Or winner a "son of a b***h."

Other reports also claim that Firpo said: "I do not give a cr** that sh**** rat Messi got injured. I hope he dies and stops scoring goals hahaha."

The former Real Betis player has issued an apology over the tweets, saying he sent them due to his friend also being a Messi fan.

He told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo: "It turns out that my best friend at the time was from Barça and therefore he was also a Messi fan because Leo is the best without discussion. And I told him to say ugly things about Messi on Twitter.

"That's it, kids stuff. Also from that time there has been a tweet of mine that said some silly Julia, who was then my girlfriend and now is my wife and mother of my daughter.

"They are things that are done with 15 years when nobody knows you and when you cannot think that this will have an impact years later, because when you put it on or imagine that you will become a professional.

"But I also say that if for those tweets someone has felt offended and I have to apologize and apologize, I do it humbly and without problems."

Firpo went on to say that "there's no doubt" that Messi is the "best in the world by far."

He continued: "I always say it when talking about the Golden Ball: at the beginning they had to give it to Messi and then create a prize for the rest of mortals and see who deserves it more."

Will Firpo be a hit at Barcelona?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Twitter, La Liga, Barca, Camp Nou

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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