Comments come after Messi and Inter Miami were thrashed 4-0 by PSG to dump the MLS side out of the competition
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has come to the defence of Lionel Messi following Inter Miami’s heavy 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Speaking after Inter’s loss in Atlanta, Ibrahimovic, who briefly played alongside Messi at Barcelona and also had a successful stint in MLS with LA Galaxy, slammed Messi’s teammates for their poor performance and inability to provide enough support for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“It wasn’t Leo Messi who lost; it was Inter Miami,” said Ibrahimovic. “Messi plays with statues, not teammates. He’s surrounded by players who run as if they were carrying bags of cement.”
Inter Miami’s first-half collapse saw them ship four goals before the break, including a brace from Joao Neves, an own goal from Tomas Aviles, and a strike from Achraf Hakimi. Though Messi finished the game with four shots – the joint-most on the pitch – his efforts were not nearly enough to rescue a side that looked overwhelmed against the reigning European champions.
For Ibrahimovic, the defeat was not a reflection of Messi’s waning powers so much as it was a symptom of a wider issue with the squad.
“This isn’t the Messi I know,” he said. “If you put him in a real team, he’d go all-out. There are no coaches, no stars, not even players who understand how to move without the ball. If he were on a real team, any great team, you’d see the real lion.
“Messi plays alone because he loves the game, because he can still do what 99% of players can’t. But this isn’t the Messi I know.”
