Former Real Madrid midfielder Royston Drenthe has slammed Barcelona legend Lionel Messi over his remarks and behavior during their encounters on the pitch. Recalling their clashes, Drenthe claimed that Messi repeatedly called him “negro,” a term that deeply bothered the Dutch player.
Drenthe, who faced Messi three times—once each while playing for Real Madrid, Hercules, and the Netherlands—won only with Hercules but lost the other two matches. Despite their frequent matchups, the tone Messi used during these encounters left a lasting negative impression on Drenthe.
In an interview with Dutch magazine *Helden* (h/t GOAL), Drenthe said:
“We played against each other a lot, and we always had problems. You know what really bothers me? That tone with which he always called me ‘negro, negro’. I understand that it is very common in South America, but we cannot stand it. Mahamadou Diarra, my teammate at Real Madrid, would become furious when Gabriel Heinze and Gonzalo Higuain initially called him ‘negro’. But they soon stopped.”
He added, “When I played against Barcelona with Hercules, I had the same problems with Messi again. Before the match, he gave me a hand and said, ‘Hola negro’. He didn’t shake my hand again after the match. I don’t think he’ll invite me to his birthday party.”
Drenthe made 65 senior appearances for Real Madrid over five years after joining the club from Feyenoord in 2007. He retired from professional football in November 2023.
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**Pep Guardiola likens Erling Haaland’s numbers to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi**
Erling Haaland has been in incredible form for Manchester City this season, scoring 17 goals and providing one assist in just 13 games across all competitions. For context, the club’s second-highest scorer in the same period, Jeremy Doku, has only two goals.
Haaland scored a brace in Manchester City’s 3-1 home win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on November 2.
After the match, Pep Guardiola compared Haaland’s impact to that of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, saying:
“This is what it’s like if you play with Messi or Ronaldo, his influence is so big. You see the numbers of that guy? Of course, he’s that level. Messi and Ronaldo have done it for 15 years, but this is the level. The first goal, the way he shoots the ball, it’s like, ‘I am going to score’. He has that hunger. It’s top. I said how incredibly coachable and manageable he is.”
Notably, Guardiola coached Lionel Messi for 219 games at Barcelona. During that time, Messi recorded 211 goals and 94 assists, winning numerous trophies, including a treble.
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*Edited by Aditya Singh*
https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/news-he-always-called-negro-negro-when-former-real-madrid-star-opened-clashes-lionel-messi-barcelona