Lionel Messi and Rodrygo were in the limelight when Argentina traveled to Brazil in November for their World Cup qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match was marked by clashes on and off the field, with the Argentine captain and Real Madrid winger involved in a heated exchange of words.
The cameras caught Messi grabbing the neck of Rodrygo during the heated exchange, which led to some viral social media reactions at the time. After the international break, Rodrygo returned to Real Madrid and picked up his form with four goals and one assist in the next three matches.
The hot form of Rodrygo prompted the official account of ESPN Deportes to connect some dots for a hilarious social media post. They tweeted the photo of Messi grabbing the neck of the Real Madrid winger and captioned it: “Messi touched Rodrygo and now the Brazilian is in his prime.” They pointed out that Messi was the reason for this red-hot form of the Brazilian winger.
Messi’s PR is unstoppable man 😭 pic.twitter.com/JCN2G1AUOd
— fan (@NoodleHairCR7) December 3, 2023
The post gave another reason for Ronaldo’s fan base to throw shade at Lionel Messi by calling ESPN his Public Relations (PR). They argued that ESPN Deportes flipped the clash in Messi’s favor by using the performances of Rodrygo to paint the Argentine in a positive light.
Messi’s pr at it again😭
— LM10🇦🇷 (@pessidog_owner) December 3, 2023
Comments like “Messi’s PR is unstoppable man” “Funny ngl” “Messi’s PR at it again” and “bro this ESPN man, I swear” echoed the sentiments of the fans about the post. Messi faced a lot of criticism for his heated exchange with Rodrygo but ESPN Deportes managed to find light in this dark situation.
Rodrygo revealed Real Madrid won’t let him talk about the Lionel Messi incident
The incident managed to stay in the spotlight for more than a week through relations and comments from every side. Rodrygo gave more legs to the story when he joked with reporters about the incident. He commented, “I can’t talk about that, Madrid won’t let me.” These comments added more fuel to social media relations from fans on both sides.
Rodrygo also commented about his new red-hot form: “I can’t explain the change, but I have to keep working. I worked when things weren’t going well for me and now that they are going well, it’s the same thing. You have to keep working. I want to continue on the good run and forget what happened.”
Rodrygo’s goals since the start of last season 🤯
— MadridistaTV (@madridistatvYT) December 3, 2023
The Brazilian winger has played 20 games in all competitions for Real Madrid and has scored nine goals and five assists. He has stepped up in the absence of Vinícius Jr. who is out with another injury. Real Madrid needs Rodrygo to continue this form to continue their title charge at the top of La Liga. They currently sit joint top with Girona with 38 points.