French World Cup winner, Christophe Dugarry apologises for calling Lionel Messi 'a kid who's 1.50 metres and half-autistic'

Former French footballer, Christophe Dugarry has apologised after calling Barcelona captain Lionel Messi ‘a kid who’s 1.50 metres and half-autistic’

The 1998 World Cup winner with France made the foul-mouthed remark during a rant about his counterpart Antoine Griezmann’s poor performances for the Spanish club.

Griezmann signed for Barcelona in a €120 million (£107m) deal from Atletico Madrid last summer but he has struggled to make an impact since arriving at Camp Nou. He was brought on as a substitute with just two minutes remaining during their 2-2 draw with Atletico on Tuesday evening, June 30, raising fears that his future at the club is now in doubt.

Speaking to French outlet RMC Sport about Griezmann’s impact at Barcelona, Dugarry dismissed the idea that the forward is afraid to play alongside Messi.

‘He [Griezmann] has lost confidence, his performances are not good,’ Dugarry, 48, said.

‘It’s true that Lionel Messi could give him a few more passes, but frankly it does not shock me. Griezmann loses the ball, he plays badly.

‘Griezmann can’t just go to Messi for them to solve their problems. Griezmann is afraid of who? Of a kid who’s 1.50 metres and half autistic? He just has to slap him in the face if there is a problem.’

French outlet RMC Sport, RMC have removed the foul-mouthed section from their podcast, and Dugarry has issued an apology.

‘I am sincerely sorry for the extent and the response to my comments on Lionel Messi,’ the former striker posted on Twitter.