James Milner claims Lionel Messi called him a ‘donkey’ in Liverpool’s Champions League tie with Barcelona.
Milner and Messi faced off twice in the semi-final of Europe’s premier club competition with Jurgen Klopp’s side prevailing after a second leg comeback.
Previously the pair had collided when the veteran midfielder was playing for Manchester City prior to his free transfer to Anfield in summer 2015.
And Milner has revealed that the Barca captain made clear his unhappiness of their duel at the midway point of the Reds’ 3-0 defeat at the Nou Camp.
As a Spanish speaker, the former England international, 33, revealed that he had understood Messi’s verbal barbs as the sides headed down the tunnel.
“He wasn’t happy,” Milner told the Mail on Sunday.
“He was giving me plenty in Spanish going down the tunnel at half-time as well. He was calling me ‘burro’
“It translates as donkey but I think it’s also used in Spanish football as a general term for someone who goes around kicking people.”
“I asked him if he was all right, but he wasn’t having it. I don’t think he realised I understood his Spanish.
“He said: ‘That foul you did, that’s because I nutmegged you’. I left him to it at that point and went into the changing room.
“Look, I’ve only got admiration for him. He has earned the right to say what he wants.
“The stuff he did in that game, stuff he has done his whole career, it makes him tough to play against.
“If you try and stop him, you can’t be scared of being made to look foolish. I’ve done it. I’ve been nutmegged by him and it has been viewed a million times.
“I wasn’t the first and I won’t be the last. He’s an incredible player.
“But with players like that, you have to let them know you’re there and not let them have everything their own way.
“You just need to try to disrupt their rhythm. You don’t want to hurt him but it’s a physical game and, if he’s running the game, you try and knock him out of his stride.
“It’s part of the game, the mental side.”
Messi revealed on Friday, just 24 hours before they lost the Copa del Rey final to Valencia, that the 4-0 defeat at Anfield had ‘tainted’ the Catalans’ season.