Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte went viral last week during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Argentina and Uruguay.
In the first half, Ugarte confronted Rodrigo De Paul, a midfielder for Atletico Madrid. The 22-year-old made an NSFW gesture toward De Paul during the conflict.
After the game, there was still animosity between the two teams. Lionel Messi, a former PSG star, was asked about the gesture but chose to remain silent instead of expressing his true feelings.
Nonetheless, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner noted that players like Ugarte on the Uruguayan squad need to learn to follow the elders on the team, referring to Luis Suárez. ESPN FC’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens reacted to the remarks from Messi.
“Did you have to learn the respect from their Uruguayan elder, who goes and bites [their] opponent not once, not twice, but three times?” Marcotti said on “The Gab and Jules Show.” “And by the way, if you see what [Ugarte] did, it’s very visible. It’s also really childish. If you do this, you don’t get offended. You just think, ‘What a weirdo.'”
Laurens responded to Marcotti: “That’s not Ugarte at all. He never does anything like that.”
Argentina will look to have a bounce-back performance to close out this FIFA break. Messi and Co. will be traveling to Rio de Janeiro to face Brazil, which is currently in a crisis.
The Brazilians have lost two straight games, with their most recent defeat coming on Thursday against Colombia, 2-1. So, both squads could be looking for a win.
