5 times Lionel Messi proved he is human

#4: Accusations of diving

Accusations of diving have dogged Messi’s career for years

Diving, flopping, simulation. Call it what you will but it’s now an accepted part of football, however disgraceful it might be. Contrary to popular belief it’s been around since the 1970’s – Francis Lee was renowned for it – but it’s now more common than ever before.

It may come as a surprise to some people that Lionel Messi, the stereotypical good guy, has been accused of diving at times throughout his career. Maybe not as much as someone like Ronaldo, or Didier Drogba, but he’s still certainly been involved in some controversial moments.

Take the time he went down against Real Sociedad in 2011 for instance – he went down as if he’d been shot by a sniper, but thankfully the referee spotted it and showed him a yellow card. Or against Osasuna in 2016, the incident that saw him hit the deck before realising the referee had spotted the con. That time he outright came clean and avoided the booking.

Compilation videos of Messi’s dives litter Youtube and they’re not that difficult to find. While he’s not as practiced in his Tom Daley impressions as some of his contemporaries, there can be no denying that Lionel Messi is capable of diving with the best of them.