Pedro Santos Faces Flak Over His Post-Game Gesture With Lionel Messi

D.C. United full-back Pedro Santos’ act following a Major League Soccer (MLS) game against Inter Miami resulted in the Portuguese footballer facing severe criticism. Inter Miami clinched a narrow 1-0 win against D.C. United and upon the completion of the match, the Argentine legend faced shirt swap requests.

Santos was the lucky man who succeeded in obtaining Messi’s shirt as the former Barcelona footballer handed over the jersey in the tunnel. Santos was undoubtedly happy having secured Messi’s prized jersey but the Portuguese full-back’s act has not gone down well with the social media users. “When will this end? Your team just lost,” read a post shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

“Pedro santos being on the same continent as Messi is so wrong,” read another post.

Sharing his take on this development, one social media user commented, “This is embarrassing. Messi didn’t even ask for his jersey. When you see there is a genuine exchange, Messi takes their jersey. Honestly, a Barcelona Messi is a lot more worth it than Miami.”

“I totally get the excitement behind seeing or playing Messi. But come on man, you’re a pro too,” wrote another person.

“It’s Pedro Santos. He can do whatever he wants,” read another response.

But there was some show of support for Pedro Santos. Like this social media user felt that, “Jersey swapping culture & tradition exists all over the world, irrespective of whether you win or lose. And if someone gets a chance to get the GOAT’s jersey, they would do it in an instant. Nothing wrong with this, stop being mad over little things.”

Echoing a similar sentiment, another social media user posted, “The narrative that a losing team’s player should not swap jerseys is ridiculous. It is a sign of respect between competitors and we should show young players more of these videos to learn what it means to compete and then honor one another.”

Coming back to the MLS fixture, Leonardo Campana scored the solitary goal of the fixture. The Ecuadorian’s goal scored in the 94th minute helped Inter Miami secure full three points at the Chase Stadium in Florida.