During the game between Inter Miami and Club América, Lionel Messi became embroiled in controversy by making a controversial gesture to the fans who booed him, reminding them that Argentina has three World Cups and Mexico has none.
The controversy grew when former player Bofo Bautista reacted strongly to Messi's action. Bautista posted on his Instagram story an image from a match between the Mexican national team and Argentina, where Bofo is seen dribbling the ball and Messi is on the grass, accompanied by a message expressing his disappointment with the professionalism of the Argentine star.
The criticisms towards Messi were swift, with some pointing out that the image shared by Bautista relates to a game in the 2010 World Cup where Argentina defeated Mexico, questioning moreover why Bofo would defend América instead of representing his country.
The reaction from the community on social media was varied, with expressions of support but mainly mockery towards Bofo for his stance. Some accused him of skewing the information by defending América instead of Mexico, while others highlighted the lack of coherence in criticizing Messi for a situation that happened in a past World Cup.
