Lionel Messi news indicated that Malaga defender Weligton grabbed the FC Barcelona superstar by the throat during their Spanish Primera Division match on Wednesday that ended in a goalless draw.
Weligton appeared to have initiated a contact in the 82nd minute of their match before he grabbed the Argentine by the throat and pushed him. Messi fell to the pitch holding his face, which led to a yellow-card booking for Weligton, but not after Gerard Pique went after him to the Messi's defense.
Weligton said that he was provoked by Messi, saying that the superstar forward insulted in him during a previous play before the incident. The defender claimed that Messi called him a 'son of bitch' before the incident.
"A minute before Messi tried to play a one-two, I tried to block him with my arm," Weligton said in Lionel Messi news on Cadena SER as reported by ESPN FC. "He thought I caught him in the face, but it was by accident. You can see from the images. He got angry and came at me, calling me a 'son of a bitch.' That was when I caught him by the throat."
The 35-year-old Brazilian also said that he did not bother to approach Messi after the match, insisting that there is nothing to talk about, but he quickly added that he was willing to apologize for his action.
"There was no need to talk with him afterwards," Weligton said. "If he wants to talk to me then no problem, if I make a mistake then I recognize it and apologize. But if he acts another way, then no problem either."
Despite the altercation before the match ended, Weligton praised his team for standing toe-to-toe with FC Barcelona, who were considered as heavy favorites heading into their match.
"The whole team played a great game so I congratulate everyone. It's not easy to hold the players that Barca possess," Weligton said in the Lionel Messi news update. "But over the last few days we've watched a lot of their videos and managed to put our ideas into practice."
Barcelona failed to score a win for the first time in the La Liga 2014 season, but they remain on top of the table with 13 points - tied with Sevilla FC.
