Lionel Messi has revealed the only time he tried to ‘humiliate’ an opponent during his career on the football pitch, which came in Argentina’s match against Poland at the 2022 World Cup. The Barcelona legend admitted that he wanted to embarrass Robert Lewandowski during the game.
Lewandowski’s Ballon d’or Statement ‘Bothered’ Messi
‘I was very angry’
Messi, recognising Lewandowski’s achievements at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, mentioned the Polish striker in his acceptance speech in 2021: “I also want to tell Robert [Lewandowski] that it is an honour for me to fight against him. I think that you deserve your Ballon d’Or. Last year everyone agreed that you were the winner and I think that France Football should give you the Ballon d’Or that you deserve.
“And you won it last year, so I hope France Football can do it and you can have it in your home, because you were just the winner. It couldn’t be done because of the pandemic, but I think you should have it in your house too.”
But that did not go down well with the then Bayern Munich man. Lewandowski would subsequently label Messi’s comments as “empty words.” In full, he responded:
“I would like it [Messi’s 2020 Ballon d’Or statement] to be a sincere and courteous statement from a great player and not just an empty words.”
And that infuriated the Argentine, who said he wanted to humiliate his opponent the next time they met. He told ESPN:
“Lewandowski’s statement in 2021 bothered me because when I won the Ballon d’Or, I said what I really felt. I ignored him during the game because it was him, and I was angry and thought he shouldn’t have said what he said. I was very angry. Was I deliberately dribbling because it was him? Yes.”
Angel Di Maria Sensed the Anger
The pair have since made up
Messi’s teammate, Angel Di Maria, told Marca that he recognised what his teammate was trying to do to his opponent: “I realised it, you realised it, my grandmother realised it. These are things of his, that sometimes stay inside him. When you talk about him, he ends up throwing it to you in a note or he does it to you in a court.”
