Messi clashes with Rincón at half-time on his special night | OneFootball

September 4, 2025 was a day filled with emotions for Lionel Messi, who played his last match with the Argentine National Team on home soil. However, taking his feelings to the limit led to a confrontation with Tomás Rincón, the legendary Venezuelan footballer, in the tunnel leading to the Monumental’s locker rooms. The Argentine star waited for him, reproached him for a few things, and they had to be separated by their own teammates. The incident did not escalate further, and Leo was able to enjoy a magical night in which he scored two of the three goals in Argentina’s resounding victory.

Chilean referee Piero Maza blew the whistle for halftime and Lionel Scaloni’s men headed to the locker rooms with a narrow lead thanks to a stunning goal from their number ten. While some of the Argentine players talked among themselves to make adjustments for the second half and others wiped off sweat and tried to catch their breath, Messi stayed at the back of the line, waiting for Rincón.

Once the former Juventus player appeared, the Argentine captain reproached him for his actions in a play and gave him a slight shove. Realizing what was happening, both Argentine and Venezuelan players and staff tried to separate them so the incident wouldn’t escalate. Salomón Rondón stepped between the two and, with a few words, calmed Messi down. Then José Cabrero, the fourth official, and Claudio Urrutia, one of the assistant referees, arrived to cool things off.

After exchanging more words with Rondón and reproaching him for what his teammate had done, Messi approached Josef Martínez, his former teammate, and greeted him with a hug before heading to the home locker room.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.