Lionel Messi’s reunion with PSG in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 didn’t go well for Inter Miami. The UEFA Champions League winners gave the MLS team a tough lesson, beating them 4-0 to reach the quarter-finals.
Lionel Messi played well, creating passes and building attacks, but overall, Inter Miami couldn’t keep up with PSG. Whether it was in attack or defence, the Miami team struggled to challenge the strong Paris side.
Lionel Messi Is Getting Trolled
After the match, Lionel Messi was trolled online, with many fans claiming the Argentine legend is past his prime. But his former Barcelona teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic disagreed. Speaking to Foot Mercato, Ibrahimovic criticised Messi’s Inter Miami teammates, saying the PSG game looked like Messi was playing alongside statues instead of real players.
“Messi’s defeat? No, no, don’t talk about the defeat as if it were his fault! Messi didn’t lose, Inter Miami did! Have you seen the team? Messi plays with statues, not teammates! If he was in a real team, in Paris, Manchester, in any of the big teams, you’d have seen the real lion.”
“Messi only plays because he loves the game, because he can still do what 99% of players can’t! But he’s surrounded by those who run around like they’re carrying bags of cement!”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Slammed Inter Miami
Zlatan Ibrahimovic also hit out at those criticising Messi, saying that the quality of players around him and the level of the league he plays in are far too low.
“There are no coaches, no stars, not even players who understand how to move without the ball! You want to blame Messi? When he plays with Ronaldo, with Mbappé, with Haaland, with Zlatan. Then you can talk! But today? No, no, no, no, no.”
The former Sweden international believes Messi still has the ability to play at the highest level, but he needs to be part of a stronger team to show it.
“But be careful, if you give him a real team, he’ll burn down the stadium again! Because, quite simply. Messi is still Messi, but today? It’s not his defeat, it’s the defeat of Inter Miami and of football.”
