The simplest thing to say is that they didn’t believe Argentina, led by Leo Messi, would beat France in the World Cup final. Childish nationalism, an incomplete look, even if many forget what happened to Maradona after Argentina “ruined” the 1990 World Cup by eliminating Italy in the semifinals. In April 1991 Diego’s doping exploded. Curious. Was the only “immoral” in that period of football Maradona?
On Messi, however, there is a certain responsibility for the scandal unleashed in Paris and for the decision of the PSG. There is an unwritten and universal football code that the Rosary has handed down: in defeat you need to be more united than ever. What would one say if one of the River players who ate the victory at the Maracaná yesterday had appeared with the whole family strolling through Cataratas, Bariloche or Mar del Plata? The heartwarming family photo of Messi feeding baby giraffes in Saudi Arabia is not innocent. It was a message.
It is true that Messi had a signed commitment with the Arabs. It is also true that, as a world figure, the balance of forces has given him enough to postpone the commitment. I did not do it. Nor the previous weekend, when he went for a bike ride in Casteldefelds. Not the previous one, when together with the family of Cesc Fabregas he visited Eurodisney. Do you have the right? All. Was it convenient?
If it is true that Messi had already made the decision not to renew with PSG and to look for another destination for his football autumn until the spring of the next Copa América and the arrival of the 2026 World Cup, he could have communicated it directly to the Qataris. What is not known is whether he had done so and the lightning bolt strengthened that communication or was it a response to the alleged anger of the PSG owners.
Messi is not likely to be interested in geopolitics, but he has become a player in the historic quarrels between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The trip could be interpreted as an affront, a visit to the opponent (enemy?) of the sheikhs who put up a fortune when he arrived from Barcelona thrown to his fate by the Catalans. It is also true that Messi has amply amortized the investment despite PSG’s two-year failure in the Champions League.
It is no less than that in the two years of his stay in Paris he was the victim of a press campaign by the French sports media as brazen as it was ferocious, exacerbated after the December final in Lusail. Undeniable reality that supports the theory of wounded nationalism. All that was needed was that they ask him not to sing the Marseillaise. We already know what Maradona would say in that case: “Franchute, you have it inside”. It seems brutal, like the treatment Messi receives in these hours.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.