Is posting on social media about non-payment of a debt considered defamation?

A friend owes me money and has been lying about paying, meeting, or talking to discuss. He has stopped responding to my calls and messages for months now.

I tried to reach out in multiple ways with no luck, and I ended up posting on Facebook asking him for my money. The text was "Hey, where is my money that you never paid back. It's been over a year, stop lying and running away".

The post was up for less than 2 minutes as he deleted it and blocked me. He suddenly msgs me with a screenshot from my post, and threatens me with a defamation case.

Is what I wrote considered defamation or any other form of language that is not legal?