Cristiano Ronaldo new teammate Aziz Behich once had heated exchange with Lionel Messi on the pitch

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Australian left-back Aziz Behich, who joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr on loan till the end of the season to link up with Cristiano Ronaldo, once had a heated exchange on the pitch with Lionel Messi.

Behich went head to head against Messi when the Socceroos took on Argentina in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Argentina, who eventually went on to win the World Cup 2022 beat Australia 2-1 in a pretty close game.

Behich, who is capped 68 times for Australia, claimed that he was nudged by the now Inter Miami star after the ball had gone out of play. Speaking after the match, the 33-year-old full-back said (via Fox Sports):

"He (Messi) pushed me once the ball was out and I’ve always been throughout my career that, when I’m on that pitch I kind of see black. I don’t see an opponent or a name or anything like that. I’m out there to help my team win and I do whatever I can for that to happen. There’s obviously respect there for the opponent and that, but it’s just a heat of the moment thing."

The situation led to an on-field scuffle between the two but Behich claimed that it was exaggerated by the media. He said:

“It ended up being face-to-face, no words were exchanged, nothing violent or anything like that but one of his teammates tried to tell me not to speak to him or something. But it was nothing to over-exaggerate .... it was jus a heat of the moment thing."

Messi also found the back of the net in that game scoring the opener in the 35th minute before Julian Alvarez doubled the lead in the 57th minute. Australia pegged one back in the 77th minute to give the game a nervy finish but Argentina managed to see the game off.