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28 March 2024

Barca ace Messi in 'negro' racism row

Dutch winger Royston Drenthe claims he was racially abused during his time in the Primera Liga. (FILE)

Published
By Agencies

Dutch winger Royston Drenthe has accused Barcelona ace Lionel Messi of racially abusing him during his spells at Real Madrid and Hercules from 2007-2011.

Drenthe, who is spending the season at Everton on a temporary deal from Real Madrid, claimed in Holland's Helden magazine that he was taunted by the Argentina superstar when they met in the Primera Division.

But Barca have insisted the accusations were "well wide of the mark".

"The player has always shown a maximum respect and sportsmanship towards his rivals, something which has been recognised by his fellow professionals many times, and we are sure that any accusations to the contrary are well wide of the mark. His behaviour throughout his career has always been exemplary," a Barca spokesman was quoted as saying.

Drenthe claims that the Argentine called him 'negro' on more than one occasion rekindling the incident involving Liverpool's Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez who was banned for eight matches fined £40,000 by the Football Association after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

“We played against each other a lot, and we always had problems. You know what really bothers me? That tone with which he (Messi) always called me ‘negro, negro’,” Drenthe stated in an interview with Dutch magazine Helden.

Drenthe says he realises the use of the term is quite common in South America, but he finds it hard to deal with. “I understand that it is very common in South America, but we cannot stand it. Mahamadou Diarra, my teammate at Real, would become furious when Gabriel Heinze and Gonzalo Higuain initially called him ‘negro’. But they soon stopped," he said.

Drenthe, who is still officially on the books of Real Madrid, locked horns with Messi a number of times during his time in Spain. Drenthe joined Real from Holland’s Feyenoord in 2007.

The 25-year-old midfielder has failed to establish himself at the Spanish champions and has found himself out on loan for the past two seasons.

With his future now up in the air Drenthe has admitted he wants to return to his home-town club Feyenoord, who have qualified for the Champions League, claiming he would even call them to initiate a move.

"I want to do what I like and that's play football. In addition Rotterdam is my city," he said. "Feyenoord have not called me yet, but of course I would not mind if they did. Maybe I'll call them myself."