Lionel Messi tried to start a fight with an assistant coach of Monterrey

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will visit Monterrey next Wednesday for the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals. Rayados have a 2-1 advantage after a very controversial match at Chase Stadium.

Although Messi couldn’t play due to muscular problems, several reports indicated that, at the end of the game, the Argentine legend went to confront referee Walter Lopez and several members of the Liga MX team.

Until now, no one had confirmed whether those incidents, in which Jordi Alba and Gerardo Martino were also allegedly involved, actually occurred. However, a few days before the big match, Nicolas Sanchez, assistant coach of Monterrey, confirmed that Lionel Messi was close to hitting him. It all became public after the audio was leaked by Fox Sports Mexico.

“Yes, Messi did want to fight me. I don’t think he wanted to hit me because otherwise, he would have hit me. He had me at arm’s length. He put his fist next to my face. I think he was looking for my reaction more than hitting me.”

Lionel Messi confronted Nicolas Sanchez of Monterrey (Getty Images)

What happened between Lionel Messi and Monterrey staff?

Nicolas Sanchez explained that, at the end of the match, he went down to the locker room area, and while waiting at the door, he saw Messi about three meters away. At that moment, the assistant coach decided to ask the player for a photo, but a security member stopped him.

“Messi was furious. Just as the referees were entering, Messi confronted them and said all kind of things to them. Behind him was Tata Martino, both of them behaving inappropriately. If we had done the same, they would have kicked us all out. I told the Concacaf staff, ‘If we had done that, they would have thrown us all out.’ Why did Tata Martino, who was entering the locker room, turn around to say all those things to me?”

Lionel Messi confronted an assistant coach of Monterrey

After the incident with Gerardo Martino, Nicolas Sanchez revealed what happened with Lionel Messi. The first time someone confirms there was indeed a confrontation.

“And then Messi showed up. I thought Messi had left. Messi appeared and he wanted to eat me alive. I didn’t even look at him, but the little guy was possessed. He had the face of the devil. He put his fist next to me and said, ‘Who do you think you are? Who are you? Talk to me.’ I don’t know all the things he said to me. I don’t think he insulted me. But since I didn’t look at him and never responded, it got worse.”

According to Sanchez, at that moment Tata Martino approached him and said: “Are you going to cry so much? Are you going to cry so much?” The assistant coach of Monterrey assured that he also did not respond to those words and did not answer anyone.

“They probably deleted all the videos because the videos make them look very bad since what they did is serious. But well, it’s part of the show. They want to stir things up and muddy the waters. There was no fight, just a discussion. Nothing more. They were angry, but nothing happened. They are the ones who ended up looking bad. That’s why no video will come out.”