Former Manchester City teammates Nicolas Otamendi and Rodri were involved in a tense and angry exchange in the aftermath of Spain's World Cup final victory, with the veteran defender confronting his ex-teammate as tempers hit boiling point following the result.
Argentina's hope of winning back-to-back World Cups were ended as Spain edged them to a 1-0 victory at the MetLife Stadium. Lionel Scaloni's side were limited, and were unable to have a single shot during the 90 minutes of normal time, whilst Spain dominated possession and controlled the game.
Argentina's hopes of winning became even smaller after Enzo Fernandez was sent off for his second yellow card, leaving the South American nation with 10 men. Scaloni looked to be trying to get the game to a penalty shootout, but Spain managed to get their breakthrough in the 106th minute, as Ferran Torres smashed home into the roof of the net to win the game.
The final whistle did not bring an end to the fiery display between the two teams, as both Nahuel Molina and Rodri were caught in a physical clash, as well as Leandro Paredes throwing punches in the direction of the Spain team. A separate, less physical confrontation broke out between Rodri and Otamendi.
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Otamendi and Rodri's Post-Match Chat Revealed
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Following the final whistle, Otamendi used the opportunity to accuse Rodri and his teammate Aymeric Laporte of spending the build-up to the final publicly complaining about refereeing standards in the tournament, and suggested those complaints had worked in Spain's favour when it mattered most. It appeared to catch Rodri physically off guard, as he looked stunned whilst he ran off to celebrate.
Per Marca, Otamendi reportedly said: "Start talking less, idiot, you guys spent the whole week crying. You and Laporte, both of you, that's now how it's done. You were crying to the referees all week, my friend."
Rodri was visibly confused as he asked Otamendi what he was talking about.
Otamendi replied: "Laporte? Didn't you see what he said this week?"
Otamendi was referring to previous comments Laporte had made to Marca, where he mentioned his surprise about refereeing decisions going in Argentina's favour during certain games.
Laporte said: "I'm not worried at all about physical play as long as it's part of football. If the referee does his job, I have no problem with it.
"It's true that in recent matches we've seen things that have surprised us, situations that have been allowed to go unpunished. Especially with Argentina, which is a team that likes to leave little messages with its challenges. That shouldn't be allowed in football, particularly in tournaments of this magnitude, because it can unsettle you and make you lose your composure."
He added: "It's the referee's job to keep the game under control so the match doesn't get away from him. If one or two players are allowed to do what they want, the game will become chaotic. Since the tournament began, we have been a fair team in that regard.
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Whilst Otamendi's comments may have confused Rodri, he wouldn't have thought about it too long as his team lifted the World Cup trophy just two years after winning the Euros. It was also a stellar tournament for the midfielder, as he won the Golden Ball award for being the best player throughout the tournament.