“We are going to put seven of you”

Apart from another of his multiple and spectacular hat-tricks that almost became routine, Barça-Mallorca from the first round (December 7, 2019) was the image of Messi pointing his right index finger at Vicente Moreno. Passing through the 36th minute of the game, and with a 2-1 favorable to Barça, Sastre entered with force over the Argentine at the height of the Mallorca bench. The lack, strong and clear, was protested by Vicente Moreno. Messi, annoyed, reproached the protests to Enrique Moreno and pointed him out. Five minutes later, he showed Moreno that turning it on is not a good idea. The Argentinean got a fantastic goal from his top hat.

Not surprisingly, Moreno was asked at the post-match press conference about the incident with Messi. So he didn't wrinkle and said, “And why not make him mad? He's a player like any other. There are certain players who seem to be in a bubble and can't seem to talk to them., but it is not important. He believed that he was fouled in front of the bench and I thought that was not the case. And it seems that he was upset, but it should not be given more importance. “Some recalled that day that Moreno and Messi had faced each other in a Barça-Xerez and that there was still some unfinished business …

The passage of time has added a chapter to that episode. In an interview on the YouTube channel of journalist Edu Pino, Moreno revealed certain insights of that match, which ended 5-2: “My players told me after the match that I was the culprit for the defeat because I had angered Messi. Yes, he was angry and, in the changing room tunnel, entering after the break, he told me that they were going to put seven in and he told Luis Suárez, that there were seven to put in. It did not arrive, but it marked three. Okay, he's the best player in the world. Look at the genius he has, the character he has, the rage he takes, the desire to win and what happened puts him in more value. “

Seven months after that episode, Moreno has reached this conclusion: “Messi is the best in the world by far, and the one we are going to enjoy, but also to suffer. When he wants, he makes a difference.”