Yerry Mina has confirmed that he hasn’t lost any respect for Lionel Messi after the Argentinian forward taunted him during the Copa America semi-final.
The game, between Argentina and Mina’s Colombia, went to a penalty shootout after finishing 1-1 in extra time.
After both sides had missed one of their opening two spot-kicks, the centre-back stepped up to take Colombia’s third penalty of the night.
Against Uruguay in the previous round, the 26-year-old smashed his penalty into the bottom corner, before celebrating with a dance on the penalty spot.
This time, he was up against Emiliano Martinez in the Argentina goal. The Aston Villa goalkeeper said to him: “I’m eating you up.”
Mina subsequently went on to see his penalty saved – and received the taunts of Messi as he stood still on the penalty spot.
Messi could be heard shouting: “Why don’t you dance now?”. He then sarcastically clapped the opposing defender.
Argentina would go on to win the shootout, before beating Brazil 1-0 in the final.
Mina speaks out on Messi incident
Mina has since spoke out about the incident. He says he hasn’t lost any respect for the Barcelona icon as a result of the incident.
The pair were briefly team-mates at Barca between January and August 2018 after Mina signed for the Spanish giants from Brazilian side Palmeiras.
He told a charity event (via Marca): “What happened with Leo is something that can happen at any moment, this is football.
“Life has cycles, it gives [opportunities for] revenge, but I am calm because I know that Leo is a great person.
“I met him at Barcelona and I thank him for the support that he gave me, I will always respect him.
“I admire Messi for what he is, at that time we were both defending our national team. If I could give my life for my national team, I would give it, but what happened was left [on the pitch], there’s nothing to it.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty
