Smalling Shoots Down

By Max Wise

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has slammed quotes floating around social media that he has supposedly made about Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.

The quote that has no source reads: "There is a weakness in Messi that only I know about. I don't think the world is aware of that, so I'm not going to talk about it now."

The quote has gone viral on social media with many people seeking to know its authenticity.

Smalling has however moved swiftly to shut down the quotes being attributed to him, describing it as ‘fake’.

After a page called 'Football Daily' shared the quote on Twitter, the 29-year-old replied: "#fakequote #fakenews."

Manchester United will meet Barcelona in the quarterfinal stage of the UEFA Champions League, with the first leg at Old Trafford on April 10 and the second leg scheduled for the Nou Camp on April 16.

Smalling faces a mammoth task of containing Lionel Messi, who has already scored 39 goals and provided 21 assists this season, when the Red Devils meet the Blaugrana outfit after the international break.

Alternatively, the quotes could be attributed to social media trolls based on what Fulham forward Ryan Babel said about international teammate Virgil Van Dijk in the build up to last Sunday’s Premier League game against Liverpool.

Speaking about his international teammate, Babel said: "He does have a weakness, I don't want to say what it is. I don't think in the Premier League anyone has made that aware yet."

Babel duly went on to capitalize on a Van Dijk mistake to pull Fulham level before the Reds scored a late penalty to take all three points.