Canelo Alvarez has apologised to Lionel Messi for accusing him of cleaning Argentina's dressing-room floor with a Mexico jersey.
The undisputed super-middleweight champion erupted on social media after a video appeared to show Messi kick a jersey given to him by a Mexican player after their World Cup clash last Saturday. Alvarez took to social media to fume: “Did you guys see Messi cleaning the floor with our jersey and flag. He better pray to God that I don’t find him. Just as I respect Argentina, you have to respect Mexico!
"I’m not talking about the country, I’m talking about Messi because of the bulls*** he did. Since the Mexico shirt is on the ground, it’s already an insult. Stop bulls***ing about what was or wasn’t." But it was later revealed Alvarez was fooled by a fake picture showing a Mexico shirt being used as a brush.
And he has no reflected on his outburst and said: "These last few days I got carried away by the passion and love I feel for my country and made comments that were out of place for which I want to apologise to Messi and the people of Argentina. Every day we learn something new and this time it was my turn. I wish both teams every success in their matches today and here we will continue to support Mexico until the end."
Alvarez found himself dragged into a war of words with several footballers after his tirade. Former Argentina striker Sergio Aguero was one of Alvarez's many critics, along with Arsenal legend Cesc Fabregas, with the players explaining the boxer doesn't understand dressing room culture in football.
"Mr Canelo, don't look for excuses or problems, surely you don't know about soccer and what happens in a locker room," Aguero wrote in a tweet in Spanish. "The shirts are always on the floor after the games are over due to sweat and then if you see well, he makes the movement to remove the booty and accidentally hits it."
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But Alvarez refused to back down and branded Aguero a "b******" and a hypocrite for getting involved in the dispute. "You b****** too... You wrote to me oh oh Canelo and now sucking, don't be a hypocrite b******." And in a later tweet, Alvarez wrote: "Unfair? Unfair what you did right now you write this and a minute ago you s*** on my Instagram DMs you have to be clear and to the point. Rather you have to have eggs!"
Fabregas made a similar defence to Aguero, adding: "You neither know the person, nor do you understand how a dressing room works or what happens after a game. ALL t-shirts, even the ones we wear ourselves, go on the floor and are washed afterwards. And more when you celebrate an important victory.”
