Roma midfielder Seydou Keita has elaborated on the reasons behind his grudge towards Pepe, which dates back to his Barcelona days and flared up during his side's match against Real Madrid in Dallas.

The Malian felt he was within his rights to snub the Portuguese centre-back during the pre-game handshakes, telling 'RFI', "Back when I played for Barça he called me a macaque, i.e. a monkey. From that moment onwards, I've seen him as a good-for-nothing. I haven't spoken about it in public before because it wasn't worth it, but that's why I didn't want to shake his hand". Keita added that he had informed his teammate Mehdi Benatia of his intentions.

"It's unacceptable for someone to spit at me. I really don't see why I should have to shake his hand, since in his eyes I'm not a human being", the veteran railed.

"I have no interest in discussing things with a person who doesn't consider me a human being. The way he behaves is out of order. Instead of coming over and asking me why I didn't shake his hand, he chose to spit at me", insisted the former Camp Nou favourite.