Lionel Messi accused of ‘showing his true colours’ after winning World Cup
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Lionel Messi has been accused of showing his “true personality” after winning the World Cup, with a former Paris Saint-Germain star claiming that the all-time great lacks “class”.
The Argentina captain was euphoric after leading his nation to a statement 1-0 victory against arch-rivals Brazil in the Maracana Stadium on Wednesday as the defending champions took control of the South American World Cup 2026 qualification group.
Brazil had Joelinton sent off in a fiery match with Messi often in the thick of the action. At one point he clashed with Real Madrid forward Rodrygo and now former PSG winger Jerome Rothen has fired a shot at the Barcelona legend.
Speaking to RMC Sport about Messi, who also played for PSG from 2021-2023, Rothen said: “When it comes to their [Argentina’s] behaviour, they are the first to attack others. Starting with the star of this team, Leo Messi.
“Now that he is a world champion and has had a good rest ahead of the World Cup since two years ago at PSG. He used to have the image of a sweet guy, but now he has changed because his true personality is coming out and he got caught. Today you can’t even touch him anymore. Only when he takes a hit does he make the same comment he made to Rodrygo when he said, ‘Hey, I’m a world champion’.
“The team reflects an image of Argentines. Argentine nationality is like that and you feel superior because of someone else. They could have more class.”
Messi, 36, recently collected his record eighth Ballo d’Or award after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year. But Rothen believes that the Inter Miami captain was undeserving of the trophy, insisting that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland should have walked away with the Golden Ball.
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Rothen added: “It’s shameful! Of course, it’s shameful! For me, Haaland should have won it. Between August 2022 and June 2023, what criteria lead us to believe that Messi is better than the rest?
“There is basically no criterion where he is the number one. If we speak about trophies, he is behind Haaland, even if he did win the World Cup. Haaland won everything with Manchester City and of course, you can’t compare based on the World Cup because Haaland is Norwegian.”
Messi spent 17 seasons at Barcelona where he became the Catalan club’s all-time record goalscorer before moving to PSG in 2021. He spent two seasons with the Parisians before joining the David Beckham-owned MLS club Inter Miami in July, where he has already made an instant impact.
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