Video of Tomas Roncero Celebrating is Unrelated to Messi Leaving Barcelona
The Claim
Spanish journalist Tomas Roncero celebrates following the departure of Lionel Messi from the Barcelona football club.
Emerging story
A video is circulating on social media claims that Madridista journalist Tomas Roncero is dancing in celebration of the departure of Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi from the Barcelona football club.
Misbar’s Analysis
Our investigation revealed the video was published in May 2021 by a Spanish television show called El Chiringuito and was uploaded on Youtube.
In the video, sports journalist Tomas Roncero is seen dancing in the face of sports analyst Cristóbal Soria after Barcelona drew with Levante 3-3 in a match. This score meant that Barcelona was out of the league just two rounds before the end of the season.
The circulation of the clip comes after Barcelona announced on August 5th that Lionel Messi had left the team due to economic and structural issues preventing them from renewing the contract. Messi will leave Barcelona after 17 years as a professional in La Liga.
Roncero is a prominent Spanish broadcaster, journalist, and editor in Spain's newspapers. One of El Chiringuito's sports program guests is known guests for his strong affiliation with Real Madrid.
