Messi's home farewell marred by tunnel altercation in Argentina's win over Venezuela

Saturday was an emotional day for Lionel Messi, who played his final match for the Argentina national team on home soil – a fact also announced by Benfica's Nicolas Otamendi – in a 3-0 victory over Venezuela.

However, despite the celebratory atmosphere, Messi found himself in a heated confrontation with Venezuelan player Tomás Rincón in the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms at the Monumental stadium during halftime.

Surveillance footage from the tunnel clearly shows Messi seeking out someone in the adjacent tunnel, heading directly towards the Santos player, seemingly to address an incident from the first half, as reported by Sportal.

Argentina was already leading at that point, thanks to a goal from the Inter Miami star himself.

As repeated shoves were exchanged, players from both teams quickly converged to separate the two. The commotion eventually subsided with the intervention of the referees.

With only one matchday remaining in the South American qualifiers, Messi will not be travelling for the away fixture in Ecuador.