The world's best footballer Lionel Messi has been dragged into a race row by axed Everton midfielder Royston Drenthe.
Dutchman
Drenthe, who has effectively cut short a disappointing spell at
Goodison Park, is officially owned by Real Madrid, and came up against
Messi during his time in Spain.
It
is then that the Holland international alledges he was called a 'negro'
by the FIFA world player of the year, the same claims laid at Luis
Suarez, another South American, by Patrice Evra.
Uruguyan
Suarez was banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 earlier this
season after being found guilty of using abusive and/or insulting words
and/or behaviour in a Premier League match in 2011.
The
striker, who previously played in Holland with Ajax, defended himself
on the grounds of cultural differences and that he was unaware that
language acceptable in his country was viewed as racist in Europe.
In
an article on Dutch news website Nu.nl, Drenthe says: 'I played against
him many times and we always have problems with each other.
'You
know what bothers me so? That tone with which he always says, "negro,
negro". I understand that "negro" in South America is very common, but
we can not stand it.
'Mahamadou
Diarra, my team-mate at Real, could explode if "negro" was aimed at
him. The Argentinean Gabriel Heinze and Gonzalo Higuain said it
initially on the training ground, but they were stopped.
'When
Hercules (the team Drenthe spent a year on loan with last season)
played Barcelona, during the game I had a small altercation with him. He
gave me a hand in the match and again said a few times, "hola negro".'
Messi nor Barcelona are yet to comment.
In
the same interview Drenthe revealed he is seeking a return to
Feyenoord, ending his troubled five-year spell with Real Madrid.
The
25-year-old midfielder has failed to establish himself at the Spanish
champions and has found himself out on loan for the past two seasons.
With
his future now up in the air Drenthe has admitted he wants to return to
his home-town club Feyenoord, who have qualified for the Champions
League, claiming he would even call them to initiate a move.
'I
want to do what I like and that's play football. In addition Rotterdam
is my city,' he said. 'Feyenoord have not called me yet, but of course I
would not mind if they did. Maybe I'll call them myself.'
Source :DailyMail.co.uk
