Lionel Messi has notched a ridiculous 734 goals in his glittering career, but has only apologised after scoring on one occasion.
In 2015, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner scored in a 3-0 victory over Argentine side River Plate in the FIFA Club World Cup final but his celebration was a muted one.
Instead of going wild like he did when he scored in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, Messi simply raised his hand in what was almost an apology to the 16,000 River Plate fans that made the trip.
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Although he holds a special affinity with Newell's Old Boys, where he started out, the Argentina captain felt bad for "ruining" the moment for River supporters.
"I know how much effort all those fans made in making that trip and how excited they were," he said in a post-match interview with FIFA, via Sport.
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"And there was me, the Argentinian, scoring the first goal and ruining it all for them.
"I don't know if I was actually saying sorry, but it was a type of apology."
It was a thoroughly nice gesture from Messi, who is always one for sportsmanship.
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In 2019, Messi showed his class by telling the referee not to award a penalty kick in his favour following one his signature slaloming runs in the box.
He rinsed two players with his fancy footwork but the third got his body in front and stopped Messi in his tracks. Messi stumbled to the floor after losing his balance but the referee asked for a VAR review on the incident.
However, Messi immediately told him that he was not fouled and play continued.
Topics: River Plate, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi
