A fired-up Lionel Messi appeared to taunt Everton defender Yerry Mina - a former Barcelona team-mate - when he missed a penalty in the Copa America semi-final shoot-out.
Argentina and Colombia needed to be separated by spot-kicks having drawn 1-1 after extra-time. Mina stepped up to take his country's second penalty and had a chance to move them level on 1-1 after Rodrigo De Paul had missed, but failed to convert.
And Messi's relief was clear to see, as he appeared to repeatedly shout 'dance now' in Mina's direction as he and his team-mates celebrated Emiliano Martinez's save.
Messi could have been referring to Mina's celebration after scoring in Colombia's penalty shoot-out win over Uruguay in the quarter-final. Mina sucked his thumb after scoring his spot-kick, despite it not being the winning penalty.
Argentina went on to record a 3-2 victory on penalties, setting up a blockbuster showdown with Brazil in the final on Sunday.
Mina spent six months at Barcelona, alongside Messi, in 2018. He joined from Brazillian side Palmeiras before moving to Goodison Park that August.
Messi's fiery reaction to Mina's miss shows just how crucial he considers this tournament to be. At the age of 34, he is running out of chances to taste international glory with Argentina.
Sunday's final will be held at the Maracana, the stadium where Messi and Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final against Germany.
Two years later, in 2016, Messi and Argentina lost the Copa America final against Chile, going down 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after the game finished 0-0.
'It's not enough to just get to the final and not win,' Messi said of that cup run.
After the penalty shoot-out win over Colombia, Messi was quick to heap praise on Villa goalkeeper Martinez.
'We have Emi who is a phenomenon,' Messi said after the match.
'We trusted him. We achieved the goal of being able to play all the games and now we are going to the final.'
villainsNeverDie
913
He was in the mood of victory...i mean the man played with his ankle bleeding for his country...Messi is the GOAT...if u say he is the GOAT like this!!!!
shivam1810
647
1 win more and I think messi will get his 7th ballon dor🐐🤞
Ruudinos
590
Doesn't matter if Argentina loses in the final. We, his fans, will still love Messi. The man is humble & don't have a big ego. He don't want to win for self recognition. He wants to win for his country, and that's one of the difference between him and a certain player who's ego driven & claim he's the best in everything by just bcuz his teams play in way for him to pile up goals.
ishti
569
Messi during the match and after the match with medical treatment in his ankle
Reednivol
531
This article is designed to fan hate for Messi. Was he taunting Mina? If he appeared to say and was not heard saying the things the reporter is talking about , then the reporter is 🥜 nuts. He is creating fiction.
Rimcimopz
521
If Ronaldo did that this would be the top article and in the comment section u would see hundreds of fans crying about how arrogant he is
Desmondeyum
327
Copa America top scorers 1.Messi with Freekicks (4 goals) 2. Messi without PK (3 goals) 3. Luataro Martinez (3 goals) 4. Messi without Freekicks (2 goals) 5. Alejandro Gomez (2 goals) 6. Neymar Jr ( 2 goals
N0_N0NsENSE
317
I liked this side of Messi today, he was a bit aggressive and supportive. That hug to de Paul after the penalty miss was a very nice gesture from the Captain
Tutackry
292
THE WALL👏💪
medbemoprz
285
Good luck. We pray for you to win this one. we're all behind you. All and everyone of us.
Yocclmotyz
243
I see a lot and know a lot of Real Madrid fans just wanting to see Messi win, I've never seen this before...I think people are just tired of Argentina letting Messi down .....Respect to yall ❤
prasunbaniya12
163
Argentina players in the goal list☺️☺️☺️
Oluwatosin6
161
to be a legend is not a small thing best for a reason
prasunbaniya12
154
Goat 🐐
shivam1810
14
Wrong stats. Lewandowski has 41 Goals just for Bayern in the League and 3 in Euro for Poland.
The stats are of 2021 read carefully smh
tiybdnosu
12
If Ronaldo did that this would be the top article and in the comment section u would see hundreds of fans crying about how arrogant he is
thats because he does something live this every week
ArunMadhu
10
yet we all know if it was done by cr7 the title of the article would have been "Ronaldo mocks opponents for losing and himself loses his temper"..... we all know how biased af is
That's because CR7 does this even without provocation and frequently. Tell me the last time you heard this about Messi
Amenka
9
He has not won any major trophies this year and his below his standards this year all we know that
he's below his standard, yet above everyone.
boydklt
8
If Ronaldo did that this would be the top article and in the comment section u would see hundreds of fans crying about how arrogant he is
The thing is Mina is a cocky guy. During the match he was disrespectful and played very dirty. It will obviously frustrate Messi.