Will Alleged Lionel Messi Insult to Weligton Tarnish His Image with Barcelona?

Things got heated as Barcelona's trip to La Rosaleda to face Malaga reached the final few minutes with the score still goalless. 

The usually ice cool Lionel Messi was involved in an unsavory incident with veteran centre-back Weligton.

Barcelona's star forward squared off with the Brazilian defender and appeared to say something to him that enraged the 35-year-old so much he grabbed Messi by the throat.

Messi over-reacted to this, hitting the deck as if he had been taken out by a sniper rifle, throwing his hands up to his face.

Per James Orr of The Independent, after the game Weligton said:

"

A minute before Messi tried to play a one-two, I tried to block him with my arm.

He thought I caught him in the face, but it was by accident. You can see from the images. He got angry and came at me, calling me a "son of a b---h." That was when I caught him by the throat.

There was no need to talk with him afterwards. If he wants to talk to me then no problem, if I make a mistake then I recognise it and apologise. But if he acts another way, then no problem either.

"

Sergio Camacho/Getty Images

Whether or not Weligton's allegations are true or not, it's clear that Messi isn't the squeaky clean figure the marketing men would love to make him out to be.

But, really, only the seriously naive could ever imagine that was the case.

A lot of insults are flung about on the football field, and this is a particularly common one in Spanish football.

Messi would have heard the same thing said to him several times over the course of the game, potentially even from Weligton himself, too.

The pair of players have history, with Weligton appearing to stamp on Messi during a clash back in 2009.

Perhaps the only thing Messi should be ashamed of from the confrontation is the ease with which he went to the ground.

Sergio Camacho/Getty Images

Weligton grabbed his throat, and most referees would have produced the red card, although the defender only saw yellow on Wednesday night.

But the way Messi went down afterwards was reminiscent of his 18-year-old self, rather than the man we know and love today.

Back in February 2006, Messi suffered a poor challenge from Chelsea's Asier del Horno during a Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge.

Although the left-back's attempt at a "tackle" was particularly poor, Messi embarrassed himself by reacting in an over-the-top fashion, and the Spaniard was sent off.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

"

Weligton how dare you touch Messi http://t.co/7fF4HLGOxZ

— Leo Messi (@messi10stats) September 24, 2014"

In the years since then, the Argentine has almost cut that entire side out of his game, and now it's common to see him kicked to pieces by several defenders, yet still standing, still in control of the ball and still causing danger.

It's a wonder, in a way, that Messi doesn't go down more.

But falling to the turf against Malaga was a throwback to his youth, rather than the established world-class and widely respected star of today.

Messi was frustrated at his own poor performance as Barcelona struggled to break down a well-drilled Malaga side (the match finished 0-0), and it manifested itself in this incident.

When Barcelona take on Granada on Saturday, you would imagine Messi's calm and balance will be restored and he can concentrate on trying to get that landmark 400th senior goal.