Barcelona have denied that Lionel Messi made racist comments towards Royston Drenthe whilst he was at Real Madrid.

The Dutch winger, currently on loan at Everton, has claimed that the Argentine superstar racially taunted him when they met in Spain's La Liga but the Catalan club have moved quickly to deny any wrongdoing.

"The player has always shown a maximum respect and sportsmanship towards his rivals, something which has been recognised by his fellow professionals many times, and we are sure that any accusations to the contrary are well wide of the mark," said a Barcelona spokesman.

"His behaviour throughout his career has always been exemplary."

Drenthe told Nu.nl: "I played against him many times and we always have problems with each other.

"You know what bothers me so? That tone with which he always says, 'negro, negro'. I understand that 'negro' in South America is very common, but we cannot stand it."

 The game is about opinions. Make yours heard! Join the tribalfootball.com nation on Facebook today: Facebook.com/tribalfootball