Filipe Luis reveals the disparaging nickname Simeone coined for Messi

Filipe Luis revealed that during his time at Atletico Madrid Diego Simeone exclusively referred to Lionel Messi by a nickname intended to belittle the Argentinian.

The Brazilian defender enjoyed two spells at Los Colchoneros as Simeone was faced with the unenviable task of rivalling Barcelona and Real Madrid sides led by Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo respectively for silverware.

In the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons alone, Messi scored eight times in four La Liga appearances against Atletico Madrid, with the Argentinian finding himself on the losing side of the fixture just five times out of 30 in his Barcelona career.

In a bid to prevent his team from being overawed by Messi's prodigious talents prior to fixtures between the two clubs, Luis revealed that Simeone would only refer to his compatriot by the nickname.

'Before the matches against Barcelona, Simeone didn't say Messi's name...' Luis told the Charla Podcast, translation via Barca Universal.

'He used to call him 'The Midget' so that we would not be afraid of him.'

The rivalry between the clubs also extended to a personal level between the two South Americans.

In 2016, Luis was sent off and handed a three-match ban for dangerous foul on the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, in a game where his teammate Diego Godin was also shown a red card.

Despite their heated clashes on the pitch, Luis previously stated that he had huge admiration for Messi's skills as a player.

After the Argentine missed out on the Ballon d'Or in 2017 Luis said: 'If he is not the best in the world then I do not understand anything.

'My rivalry with him is infinite on the field, but my admiration is also infinite.'

Luis departed the Spanish capital in 2019 after amassing a total of 333 appearances in all