Audio leaks discussing the confrontation between Monterrey and Inter Miami have shed light on what Lionel Messi and Tata Martino said. The feisty exchange happened after Monterrey came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the MLS club at Chase Stadium. Now, Inter Miami must overcome a one-goal deficit to reach the semifinals of the competition. Messi did not play in that game, but he was in attendance when Miami fell to the Mexican side.

Audio has now come out from Monterrey assistant coach Nico Sanchez. The coach went into detail on the altercation and how it stemmed from Messi and Martino taking offense to the referees on the night.

“When I’m at the door to the locker room I see Messi three meters from where I am,” Sanchez said. “I approach him to ask for a photo, his security, in good spirits, stops me, and I notice Messi is heated. Right then, the referees were coming in, and Messi gets in their face and tells them off. And next to him was Tata Martino. Both were very out of pocket. If we did that, they’d send us to hell.”

Sanchez is alleging to the fact that if Monterrey and its coaching staff or players harangued the officials after the game CONCACAF would not hesitate to stomp the Mexican side. The assistant coach said as much to CONCACAF officials in the tunnel area where this all happened. That is when Martino and Messi overheard Sanchez’s comments, and the coach went into detail on the emotions of the two Argentines.

Monterrey coach calls Messi a dwarf, Martino dumb

“Officials from Concacaf were there and I told them, if we were to do that, they’d kick us all out. When I said that, Tata Martino who was going into the locker room turned around and started yelling at me, and Messi appeared and wanted to eat me alive! His security approached but didn’t do anything because I didn’t react. The dwarf was possessed, he had the face of the devil. He put his fist next to my face and said, ‘Who do you think you are?’ But because I didn’t look at him, I was looking away, I never answered back, it made things worse.

“And Tata Martino, what a poor dummy, I had him in front of me telling me, ‘Fool, you going to cry? Fool you going to cry?’ What a dummy!”

Sanchez concluded his rant by saying Inter Miami likely had all videos and records wiped because it would make the club and its Argentine star look bad. In fairness, there is no video of the altercation, only eyewitness reports that can differ in their veracity and validity.

In any case, the off-field drama adds intrigue to this game on Wednesday evening. Inter Miami has the biggest game of its season so far. Coverage of the CONCACAF Champions Cup clash is available via Fox Sports 1 and TUDN in the United States. Based on his appearance in MLS play this past weekend, Messi will be available for the second leg.

PHOTOS: IMAGO