Lionel Messi Dislikes Argentina Players Calling Mac Allister Ginger

Lionel Messi told Argentina players to stop calling Alexis Mac Allister 'Colo.' In an interview with Alexis Mac Allister, he shared how Messi leapt to his defense when other players were teasing him for being a ginger.

“I remember everyone called me ‘Colo’, which is ginger in Argentina. I don’t like it much and he told the team-mates that. He said, ‘He doesn’t like to be called Colo, so don’t call him that!’.”

Mac Allister received his first call to the national team in August 2019, and Messi was very welcoming to the former Argentinos Juniors man. When the attacking midfielder talked about meeting Messi, he expressed how he was completely red and so nervous he couldn't even say hello.

Apparently, the 23 year old's name and ginger hair comes from his Irish ancestry. Alexis' father Carlos, who is also ginger, played as a left-back for Boca Juniors and linked up with Diego Maradona.

In the course of this season, Mac Allister, who opened the scoring for Argentina against Poland on Wednesday night, has played 15 times for Brighton, scoring five times in total.