Espanyol defender Alvaro has revealed the conversation he had with Lionel Messi during the Copa del Rey defeat to Barcelona.
Alvaro and Messi were spotted exchanging words during the 2-0 Blaugrana win, and the former spoke to reporters after the match.
“He complained about a few things and I complained about others. I asked if he thought I was going to hurt him, and he said yes,” AS quotes Alvaro as saying.
“He tells me how bad I am and I tell him how short he is. We’re both right. We laughed and we should leave it there.”
The two-legged encounter was bad tempered but Alvaro insisted any incidents between the players should stay on the pitch, condemning anti-social behaviour.
“I don’t condone any violence. I’m a tough player, I like going into tackles, but everything remains on the pitch,” he continued.
“You have to be a good professional on the pitch and a good person off it.
“Barca try to win the League and we try to stay up. They’re great derbies but we have to leave it there. Both teams try to win.
“We went out strong to score as soon as possible to encourage the fans and ourselves. We knew it would be a miracle [to overturn the first leg] and very difficult.”
