As a prominent TV pundit, Jamie Carragher is used to taking his fair share of flak on social media.
The ex-Liverpool defender probably received a sizeable helping of criticism during his playing days, too, although the bulk of that didn't take place online.
It's one thing for fans and newspaper columnists to bite back about the way a footballer plays or an ex-player's punditry takes, but how about possibly the greatest player of all time?
Carragher: 'Messi called me a donkey'
Speaking in a new interview with SPORTbible, Carragher was asked which high-profile player was most likely to confront him over his footballing opinions.
The former Liverpool man didn't hesitate to pull back the curtain on an unexpected encounter with Messi, admitting that the legendary forward possesses a surprisingly sharp tongue behind closed doors.
The social media exchange occurred during Messi’s time at Paris Saint-Germain, according to Carragher. In line with his TV punditry duties, the outspoken Scouser had delivered a blunt assessment of PSG's European prospects, arguing that the French giants had virtually no chance of lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy while attempting to field Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar simultaneously.
That critique evidently struck a nerve in Paris, prompting the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner to reach out personally on social media.
"He wasn't too happy with something I'd said about his PSG team having no chance of winning the Champions League with Messi and Mbappe and Neymar all playing at the same time," Carragher recalled. "He sent me a few messages in Spanish, which I then got translated. And the gist of it was basically he called me a donkey."
Far from taking offence at the insult, the Sky Sports pundit took the dressing-down in his stride, perceiving a reprimand from footballing royalty as something of a badge of honour.
"Which was fair enough coming from him," Carragher added. "So, yeah, if you're going to get a message off someone who's not happy, make sure it's the greatest player of all time, and that's what happened to me."
The timing of the exchange was all the more surreal given what went down only twenty-four hours later. Shortly after firing off the direct message response, Messi took to the stage to add another piece of individual silverware to his collection.
"And the next night he won the Ballon d’Or," Carragher revealed. "I said, 'Congratulations', and he never messaged me back."
