Zlatan Ibrahimovic defended Lionel Messi following Inter Miami’s elimination from the FIFA Club World Cup and likened the superstar’s teammates to “statues.”
Inter Miami and Messi lost 4-0 to his former club Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s round of 16. Ibrahimovic — who played with Messi at Barcelona — was unimpressed by Miami, which conceded four first-half goals against the Champions League winners.
“It wasn’t Leo Messi who lost; it was Inter Miami,” the former Sweden forward said.
“Messi plays with statues, not teammates. He’s surrounded by players who run as if they were carrying bags of cement.”
Ibrahimovic, who briefly played in MLS for the LA Galaxy, said fans did not get to see the best Messi at the Club World Cup because of a lack of talent at Inter Miami.
“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,” he said.
Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi focused on the positives. Miami, which beat FC Porto 2-1 in the group stage, became the first MLS team to ever beat a European club in official competition and the only MLS club to advance to the knockout round in this tournament.
“It was the game we expected,” Messi, 38, said after his team’s humbling loss to PSG. “We tried to do the best possible and we left a good image at the Club World Cup level.”
