Royston Drenthe, former Real Madrid player, revealed an incident that questions Lionel Messi's image. According to the Dutchman, during a La Liga match between Hércules de Alicante and Barcelona, Messi directed a racist insult at him. Despite this, Drenthe stated that he respects Messi for being one of the best players in the world. In an interview, Drenthe was asked who he considered better between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The former player praised Messi's skills but highlighted Ronaldo's impressive numbers, stating that the Portuguese would reach a thousand goals, something Messi could not achieve. The Dutchman shared that Messi called him 'black piece of shit' during a confrontation in which they participated. According to Drenthe, Messi later explained that for Argentinians, this kind of language was normal among teammates and that he did not intend to offend him as a racist. Despite the incident, Drenthe assured that he holds no grudge against Messi.