Video: Lionel Messi headbutts Roma's Yanga-Mbiwa and then grabs his neck in friendly match
Lionel Messi is a player known to keep his cool and never react to any fouls or provocation, even if it’s a blatant foul to stop him in his tracks. But all that changed last night when he came face-to-face with Yanga-Mbiwa.
Barcelona were playing AS Roma at the Camp Nou in the 50th Joan Gamper Trophy when Messi was about to make a run past him with the ball. But the referee stopped play and when Messi moved past Mbiwa, the defender said something to provoke the Argentine forward.
Messi, who was also wearing the captain’s armband, did not take it too well and squared up with Mbiwa. He first headbutted him before grabbing the defender by the neck and pushing him away.
However, teammates Luis Suarez and Neymar quickly stepped in to separate the pair while the match referee Javier Estrada Fernandez also took matters into his own hands by booking both players. But it wasn’t red cards – both players got off with a yellow card in a match that wasn’t exactly a “friendly game”.