MLS
Edwin Cerrillo reveals Lionel Messi’s attempts “to get into my head”
The LA Galaxy midfielder said he refused to back down and found himself in a confrontation with Messi and Luis Suárez.
Inter Miami needed an injury-time equaliser from Lionel Messi to earn a late draw against LA Galaxy last weekend. The Herons struggled to control the game in Los Angeles and were frustrated by the Galaxy’s energetic midfield.
LA Galaxy went down to ten men in the final stages after Marco Delgado received a harsh second yellow card. The match was keenly-fought and tensions were high from the first whistle.
In the first half Galaxy midfielder Edwin Cerrillo squared up to Miami star Luis Suárez and later revealed that Messi had sought to provoke him.
Cerrillo told TyC Sports: “First I was surprised that [Messi] was talking to me, so I didn’t understand the first thing he said to me, nor did it register with me. He was serious and at that moment I knew I needed to stay calm, because it was early in the game.”
What did Lionel Messi say to Edwin Cerrillo?
Texas-born Cerrillo is of Mexican descent and speaks fluent Spanish. He revealed that he was speaking to Miami’s Spanish-speaking contingent throughout the game and refused to back down in the face of his illustrious opponents.
He explained: “Like with anyone, I wasn’t going to stay silent. And when Suárez and [Sergio] Busquets came to defend [Messi]... Well, it’s nice, but it’s part of football and at that moment was when I had to be calm.”
So what did Messi say to antagonise Cerrillo? Another ‘Que miras, bobo’? For now at least, the Galaxy star is keeping the details to himself.
“What was said will remain with me, it is something that I will always have in my mind and I will keep that.”
As well as his incredible on-ball talents and commercial heft, Lionel Messi’s arrival in Miami was also intended to bring his competitive instinct to the struggling team. He may be in the swansong of his career, but Messi’s hunger for success has not diminished.