Espanyol's Alvaro has revealed Lionel Messi's cutting response to being called "small" by the centre-back during Wednesday's Copa del Rey last-16 clash with Barcelona.
Per Marca, Alvaro and Messi were chipping at each other throughout Barcelona's 2-0 win, which saw the Camp Nou giants prevail 6-1 on aggregate. Alvaro aimed his taunt about Messi's size, to which the Ballon d'Or holder replied: "And you're really bad."
The 26-year-old defender elaborated on the altercation, per FourFourTwo:
Leo was criticising me for some things, and I some others.