Topics: Copa del Rey, FC Barcelona, Espanyol, Lionel Messi, Alvaro Gonzalez
It seems Ballon d’Or 2015 winner Lionel Messi is not only good at winning titles and breaking records, but also responding to insults.

The Argentine has been trending on social media since he won the Ballon d’Or after beating his closest competitors Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. He further made headlines in the media after a brief altercation with Espanyol defender Alvaro, during their second leg Copa del Rey fixture on Wednesday night. Barcelona won the match 2-0 to guarantee a place in the quarter finals but despite the easy win, Messi was trending for a rather peculiar reason.  

The 28-year-old, who rarely gets involved in quarrels and misunderstandings with his opponents on the pitch, found himself in a strange situation when Alvaro allegedly mocked him for being ''short.’’ 

In the second half, the 26-year-old Spanish defender took a hard tackle on Leo and after that, a silent war of words ensued, which lasted less than five seconds.Catalunya radio claimed that (as reported by Sport), Alvaro told Messi:

''You are very short’’

And the Barcelona star responded:

''And you are very bad (in terms of football).’’

Images from the match clearly showed that the two indeed exchanged words. Messi responds to Alvaro's insult during their Copa del Rey fixture

Watch the silent exchange of words between the two rivals in the Catalan derby

Additionally, Alvaro also confirmed the incident during a post-match interview. He said: 

“I told Messi he’s really small and he replied you’re really bad. We’re both right.”

Here is how football fans Twitter reacted to the incident: