Ahead of ‘break or bend’ games in Group B in Qatar, Mexican player, Andres Guardado, has leapt to the defence of Lionel Messi after he was threatened by boxing champion Canelo Alvarez for appearing to kick his Mexico shirt in the dressing room following Argentina’s win over his side at the World Cup.
Guardado, who is appearing at a record-equalling fifth World Cup but has been ruled out of Mexico’s final group game against Saudi Arabia, said the row between Alvarez and Messi was ‘silly’.
Alvarez responded furiously to footage showing Messi seemingly kicking out at a stray Mexican jersey on the floor as they celebrated in the dressing room after their 2-0 victory.
‘Did you guys see Messi cleaning the floor with our jersey and flag,’ Alvarez tweeted. ‘He better pray to God that I don’t find him. Just like I respect Argentina, he has to respect Mexico!’
But Guardado, who disclosed it was his Mexico shirt at the centre of the bizarre row, hit back at Alvarez for his angry comments towards the Argentinian star and defended Messi’s actions.
‘I know the person Messi is,’ the 35-year-old said, according to Argentinian broadcaster TyC Sports.
‘It’s a deal with the staff that when it’s all sweaty, it gets left on the floor. Be it your jersey or rival. Canelo doesn’t know what a dressing room is. It seems silly to me. That shirt was mine, I exchanged it with Leo.’
Messi’s former Argentina team-mate Sergio Aguero has also slammed Alvarez, claiming the boxing superstar is hated by the whole of Argentina.
‘You earned the hatred of all of Argentina. Just with Messi, it’s like saying something against Maradona. You played with fire,’ Aguero said in a video posted on Twitter.
‘So, I’m sorry, I followed you on Instagram, but I stopped following you. I liked you, I don’t like you today.’
It is not the first time that Aguero has stood up for his former team-mate, as he also defended Messi straight after Alvarez made the initial accusation.
‘Mr. Canelo, don’t look for excuses or problems, surely you don’t know about soccer and what happens in a locker room,’ he wrote.
‘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.’
Alvarez was not happy with Aguero’s explanation, though, and launched an expletive-laden rant in response.
‘You too, b******? You used to write me, “oh, oh, Canelo”, and now you’re crying. Don’t be a hypocrite, b******,’ he tweeted.
Former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has also defended Messi, posting on Twitter: ‘You neither know the person, nor do you understand how a locker room works or what happens after a game.
‘All t-shirts, even the ones we wear ourselves, go on the floor and are washed afterwards. And more when you celebrate an important victory.’
Alvarez, a multiple world champion, also reacted angrily after being mocked by a picture of a wooden stick poking a Mexico shirt on the floor, posted by a fake Messi account.
The super middleweight champion took to Twitter to post: ‘hdp,’ a Spanish anagram of ‘hijo de puta’, which translates to ‘son of a b**ch’.
HOW THEY STAND
GROUP A
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | Senegal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Qatar | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 0 |
GROUP B
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | USA | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Iran | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 3 |
| 4 | Wales | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 1 |
GROUP C
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Poland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Argentina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Mexico | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
GROUP D
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | France | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| 3 | Denmark | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 4 | Tunisia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
GROUP E
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Spain | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 2 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Costa Rica | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 3 |
| 4 | Germany | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 |
GROUP F
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Croatia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | Morocco | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Belgium | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Canada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 |
GROUP G
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Brazil | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Cameroon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 1 |
| 4 | Serbia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 |
GROUP H
| Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Portugal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Ghana | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Korea Republic | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 |
4
| Uruguay | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
