Barcelona defend Messi against accusations of racism

Barcelona have issued a statement defending their biggest star, Lionel Messi, against accusations he directed a racial term at fellow player Royston Drenthe. Drenthe, who is currently on loan at Premier League club Everton from Real Madrid, claims Messi called him a "negro" repeatedly during his time in Spain, where he played for Hercules, also on loan. "The player has always shown maximum respect and sportsmanship towards his rivals, something recognised by fellow professionals," a Barcelona spokesman said. "We are sure that any accusations to the contrary are well wide of the mark." Drenthe, aged 25, is not what one would call a model professional. He has spent this season, the final year of his Real Madrid contract, on loan at Everton but he has been excluded from David Moyes' squad in a few weeks ago for disciplinary reasons. In an interview with Dutch magazine Helden, Drenthe says he clashed with Messi during his time with Hercules in the Spanish top flight. In fact, he had even more accusations to make during that interview. He has also accused former Real Madrid team-mates Gabriel Heinze and Gonzalo Higuain of using similar language on the training ground. "I played against Messi many times and we always have problems with each other," Drenthe said. "You know what bothers me so? That tone with which he always says, 'negro, negro'. I understand that negro in South America is very common, but we cannot stand it. When Hercules played Barcelona, during the game I had a small altercation with him. He gave me a hand in the match and again said a few times, 'hola negro'. Mahamadou Diarra, my team-mate at Real, could explode if 'negro' was aimed at him. The Argentinians Gabriel Heinze and Gonzalo Higuain said it initially on the training ground, but they were stopped." Moreover, the Dutch player even remembered the first time Messi ever called him a “negro”, back in 2008 during the Olympic football tournament in Beijing. Drenthe claimed that, after he wasted a chance to win the game in the 87th minute, Messi turned to him and called him "negro" for the first time. The Spanish Primera Liga officials revealed that they are not planning to take action against Messi, mainly because the accusations are not backed up by any proof. Drenthe was a hot prospect a few years ago, when Real Madrid signed him from Dutch club Feyenoord. But he failed to clinch a first team spot at the Spanish champions, so he was loaned out to various clubs. Now, with his contract running out, he might be trying to move a bit into the spotlight in order to get a good contract next summer.