Messi criticized for his behavior after winning the World Cup

According to former PSG midfielder Jerome Rothen, Lionel Messi changed his behavior after winning the World Cup with Argentina.

During the 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Maracana on November 22, Messi emphasized that Argentina were world champions when arguing with Brazilian striker Rodrygo. The young player playing for Real called Argentina cowards for going into the dressing room when witnessing a brawl in the stands between fans of the two teams - an incident that caused the match to be delayed for nearly 30 minutes.

"Talking about the behavior of the Argentine players, they provoked others first. And the initiator was the number one star in the team, Lionel Messi. Now, he boasts about being a world champion, but Messi has that because he has had a lot of rest since moving to PSG two years ago," Rothen told RMC Sport on November 26 when asked about the argument between Messi and his teammates with Rodrygo.

Messi argued with Rodrygo before the match between Brazil and Argentina. Photo: Reuters — Messi argued with Rodrygo before the match between Brazil and Argentina. Photo: *Reuters*

At the match on November 22, police were deployed to restore order in the stands. They used batons to suppress the overzealous fans. Witnessing the Argentine fans being beaten, the away team's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez jumped into the stands to prevent the police from swinging their batons.

After the match, Messi explained that he led the team to the locker room to calm the situation, thinking that it was the best way for the team to keep their mentality for the match. When returning to the field, Argentina played better and won the home team 1-0 with the only goal from center-back Nicolas Otamendi. Messi did not leave much of an impression because he was closely followed by the home team's center-backs Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhaes, before leaving the field in the 78th minute.

"Messi used to have a nice image, but now that's changed because his real personality has emerged. It's hard to touch Messi now. Every time he's touched, he says the same thing as Rodrygo: 'Hey, I'm the world champion'. The team reflects the image of the Argentine people. The Argentine people are always like that, only satisfied when they are better than others. They should behave with more class," Rothen added.

Rothen has criticized Messi many times. In March, the former French midfielder commented that Messi often disappeared in big matches. He then assessed that Messi lacked commitment to PSG and did not show the same determination to fight for the national team as he did at Barca. Rothen even criticized Karim Benzema for praising Messi's performance in PSG's shirt.

This time, Rothen also thinks Messi does not deserve to win the 2023 Golden Ball. He said: "It's obviously a shame to give that title to Messi. For me, Haaland deserves it. From August 2022 to June 2023, what criteria makes Messi more highly regarded than other players? Basically none. If we talk about titles, Messi is behind Haaland even if he wins the World Cup. Haaland has won everything with Man City and of course, you can't compare based on the World Cup, because Haaland is Norwegian."

Vinh San (according to Goal )

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