12 September 2023 , 16:22
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Lionel Messi has revealed his son Mateo regularly teases him over his career low points - including Barcelona's infamous loss to Liverpool in 2019.
The 4-0 semi-final defeat at Anfield went down in Champions League history as Jurgen Klopp's men fought back from a 3-0 first-leg loss to win the tie. The victory is now part of the Reds' folklore and it appears that even Messi himself is reminded about it on a consistent basis.
It will come as even more of a surprise to some that the chief source of ridicule when it comes to the sore point is his son Mateo. In fact, his long-suffering dad has admitted that the youngster brings up the defeat on Merseyside when they play in their garden.
The eight-year-old boy is seemingly something of a mischief maker. His father's achievements in football are unrivalled within the sport but that does not stop his middle child from mocking him.
On top of this, he has also shown allegiance towards his dad's long-term rivals Real Madrid, such is his commitment to getting on the wrong side of his family members. In this case, his support for Los Blancos is a tactic to annoy his brother, Thiago.
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Messi explained: "When Mateo plays with me in the backyard, he goes 'I’m Liverpool and Valencia because they beat you!' At home when Thiago and Mateo are watching football together, Mateo will celebrate Real Madrid goals to p*** off his brother."
When a clip of the World Cup winner speaking about his son's attempts at getting one over on his dad went viral, commenters were quick to express their amusement. One posted: "Mateo is gonna end up playing for Madrid", while another added: "Imagine Mateo really ending up Real Madrid and Thiago In Barca."
Lionel Messi is a proud dad of three sons including MateoThe Inter Miami superstar previously explained his relationships with two of his young sons, confirming that Mateo is more contrarian than his brother. They do all have one thing in common, though, which is their love of football, the ex-PSG man confirmed to TyC.: "Tiago doesn’t miss a game [and] Mateo loves football.
"He wears all the shirts. Mateo looks at me and challenges me. I tell Thiago things once and he does it without complaining. In the (national team) I find it hard to be far from them."
Currently, the Argentina captain is with his national team for their World Cup qualification campaign. He scored the winner in the team's 1-0 victory over Ecuador from a free-kick to start their title defence off in style.