World Cup champion Lionel Messi has doubled down on his recent feud with Mexican fans.
“They put themselves in a position of having a rivalry with us that doesn’t really exist,” the Argentina captain commented in an interview with the program Simplemente Fútbol, broadcast on YouTube. “There’s no comparison between Argentina and Mexico, and I don’t know where that came from.”
The clashes between the Albiceleste and El Tri have become a World Cup classic.
The last one was in the first round of Qatar 2022, with a 2-0 victory for Lionel Scaloni’s team.
It was after that duel that the Argentine star, who inspires admiration among most rival fans, became a target of Mexican anger.
“I don’t know what happened to the Mexicans, when that rivalry, that anger, started,” Messi said. “I always felt very loved by the people of Mexico; I never disrespected anyone.”
The Rosario-born star scored four goals against Mexico, the last of which came in the Qatar 2022 clash. He has never lost an official match against Mexico.
Messi said in the interview that this was the goal he celebrated most in Qatar.
“Not because of the fans, far from it. It was a huge relief and gave us the peace of mind to get back to what we were and depend on ourselves,” he said, referring to the victory that paved the way for qualification to the World Cup round of 16.
But off the field, Messi was involved in a strange incident at the last World Cup involving the jersey he exchanged with Andrés Guardado.
Mexican multi-time boxing champion Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez considered it an insult to his country that Messi left his jersey on the locker room floor.
Although the incident was later clarified and the boxer apologized for misinterpreting Messi’s actions, the Argentine player was harassed by Mexican fans during a friendly between his team, Inter Miami, against Club América of Mexico earlier this year in Las Vegas.
The Miami captain scored a goal and celebrated in front of the Águilas fans by raising three fingers, in reference to Argentina’s World Cup titles.
