FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is often portrayed as one of the nicest men in football, but following his heated spat with Edinson Cavani on Monday night, here are seven other times the five-time Ballon d'Or winner showed his nastier side while playing for Argentina.
Click through the gallery above to see eight instances when Messi showed the world his uglier side, as per GiveMeSport.
Most of the forward's past and present teammates have praised Messi for his humility, with Dani Alves once stating he thinks that "the best player in the world should be quiet, humble, and friendly. Lionel Messi is all of these things."
This sentiment has been echoed throughout his glittering career by supporters, by managers, and by almost everybody who has come into contact with him off the field.
There have, however, been times when Messi surprised the footballing world by losing his cool, although this has not been a regular occurrence, but he did have quite a controversial international break in this past week.
On Monday night, the 32-year-old was involved in a tense war of words with Uruguay's Cavani after being fouled. Messi and the Paris Saint-Germain forward were forced to be separated on the field, and it is believed their spat continued as the players headed down the tunnel at half-time.
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While we do not often see the Blaugrana captain this enraged, he did seem to be annoyed with Brazil coach Tite last Friday. Following a nasty professional foul from Messi, the Selecao boss called for him to be shown a yellow card, to which the Argentine reportedly responded by requesting he "shut up".
Brazil defender Thiago Silva slammed the Argentine for his behaviour, as did Tite, who later accused the five-time Ballon d'Or winner of being disrespectful.
We saw Messi come under fire for his comments at the 2019 Copa America, where he accused the referees and tournament organisers, CONMEBOL, of corruption. As a result, he was slapped with a fine and handed a three-month ban, one that ended before the recent international friendlies.
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A few other incidents involving the Argentina skipper has raised eyebrows over the years, dating back to his debut with his national team – click through the gallery to see a few more!
Do you think Messi's mean streak is perhaps overlooked because of his seemingly introverted personality? Let us know in the comments section below.
