Lionel Messi in race row Prem star: Barca ace called me a 'negro'

THE world’s top footballer Lionel Messi was plunged into a racism row yesterday by a Premier League player who claims the Barcelona superstar called him a “negro”.

Winger Royston Drenthe, 25 — on loan to Everton from Real Madrid — said he was constantly taunted by Messi, 24, in Spain.

And he added: “I played many times against Messi and we always had problems with one another.

“You know what bothers me so much? That tone with which he always says, ‘negro, negro’. I understand that ‘negro’ is commonly used in South America. But we can’t stand it.”           More Read