Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has reportedly made Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos "livid" by sending Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone and the club's players WhatsApp messages urging them to beat Los Blancos on Saturday.
According to Diario Gol (via the Express' Jack Otway), Messi is doing all that he can to give Barcelona the edge in the title race—Real lead La Liga by two points ahead of the Blaugrana—and has been sending encouraging messages to Atletico's stars and his fellow Argentinian Simeone ahead of the Madrid derby at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The report added that Ramos has found out about Messi's tactics and is not happy at Barca "for playing dirty."
Real have not won the Spanish league title since 2012, under former manager Jose Mourinho.
Since then Barcelona have won three titles and Atleti one.
| Current La Liga Top Four | |||||||||
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Real Madrid | 29 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 78 | 30 | 48 | 71 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 30 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 88 | 26 | 62 | 69 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 55 | 23 | 32 | 61 |
| 4 | Sevilla | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 52 | 37 | 15 | 58 |
With nine games left to play in 2016-17 Real are in charge of this season's title race, as not only do they have a lead over Barca, they also a game in hand, and Atletico are out of the running.
However, with Messi's side likely to pick up a win against struggling Malaga on Saturday, Real could drop behind their fierce rivals in the table if they lose to Atleti on the same day.
Given the animosity that already exists between the Madrid pair, Atleti likely need little encouragement to scupper their neighbours' title hopes, not least because Real have beaten them in two UEFA Champions League finals in the last three years.
However, Messi is willing to pursue all possible avenues in order for Barca to get the edge over Real as they go for a third title in a row.
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