Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish were involved in a heated scuffle with Fluminense’s Felipe Melo after full-time in the Club World Cup final.
The Manchester City stars were part of the team who earned a 4-0 victory over the Brazilian side in Saudi Arabia to claim their fifth trophy of 2023.
While clearly an occasion of celebration, the England internationals found themselves involved in an altercation with the 40-year-old midfielder.
After being pushed by Melo, Walker had to be held back by his teammates and Man City’s backroom team to ensure that the celebratory occasion didn’t turn sour.
Veteran Melo later revealed Grealish was his intended target due to the forward’s alleged behaviour towards Matheus Martinelli.
Melo said: “When the game ended, Grealish went after Martinelli. He chose a little guy. He has no balls to face a big one.
“Grealish was passing close to Martinelli and I saw them talking, forehead to forehead, so I went after him. I pushed him. Walker pushed me, too. I went to defend a teammate.”
The ex-Juventus star added: “I defended my institution. I will do this forever. No one will disrespect my institution or its athletes. No one will come and humiliate my friends or my club.
“I didn’t want a mess. Grealish was disrespectful towards the Fluminense institution and I will never let that happen.
“He was shouting ‘ole’ at the end of the game. This is something that the fans can do, not a player – an athlete on the field cannot be disrespectful.
“I went to defend Martinelli, who was being cornered by this athlete. And I would do it again. I am a warrior. Nobody can ever crow with a rooster.”
A number of Fluminense stars, including Martinelli, gave a similar version of events but Grealish dismissed the argument on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The 28-year-old said: “Not once did I say ‘ole’.”
Frustrations had been boiling over for Fluminense during the second half of the contest, largely due to Man City’s dominance.
This included a rash challenge on midfielder Rodri, leading to him hobbling off the pitch in concerning scenes.
However it was Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden who were the stars of the show, providing three of the four goals – alongside an own goal from Nino – to officially see Man City crowned as the best side in world football.
That trophy is City’s second of the season so far following their UEFA Super Cup win, but with the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League still to play for, the Blues will be desperate to add another impressive haul to their trophy cabinet during the second half of the season.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
