Bernardo Silva's tweet to his Manchester City teammate Benjamin Mendy will now be investigated by the Football Association (FA) for alleged racism.
According to a BBC report, Portugal's Silva compared Mendy to the character on the packet of Conguitos - a brand of sweet available in Spain and Portugal.
The post was published on Sunday but was taken down later.
"Can't even joke with a friend these days, " Mendy tweeted subsequently.
The tweet faced backlash from fans across the globe, with many saying Silva had racially abused Mendy.
France international Mendy and Silva have played together before at Monaco and both joined Manchester City in 2017.
While Manchester City refused to comment on the matter, Mendy responded to the tweet and did not appear to take offence.
There will now be a review conducted by FA of the post and the context in which it was made public.
Hello EnglishHello English
