Opening up about his disagreement with Robert Lewandowski for the Ballon d'Or
After winning the FIFA Best Men's award a few months later, Lionel Messi made some complimenting remarks at the 2021 Ballon d'Or presentation. Messi subsequently acknowledged that these remarks irritated him. Robert Lewandowski threw doubt on these remarks.
During the World Cup, Angel Di Maria asserted that Messi deliberately targeted Lewandowski.
Lionel Messi has stated that he and Robert Lewandowski had settled their disagreement regarding remarks he made during the 2021 Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Two years ago, Messi won his seventh Ballon d'Or, and during his speech, he maintained that Lewandowski, who was at Bayern Munich at the time, ought to have received the honor, which was canceled in 2020.
The Poland forward, who did not receive a vote from Messi, went on to win Best FIFA Men's Player for 2021. When this snub occurred a year ago, Lewandowski said it was 'tough to relate to' and expressed confusion about why Messi's perception of him had changed.
Messi acknowledged in an interview with ESPN that he had given Lewandowski the cold shoulder because of his remarks during Argentina's 2022 World Cup matchup with Poland.
"I was troubled by his statement. Because I truly felt it when I declared my feelings and won the Ballon d'Or," Messi remarked of Lewandowski. "I found it bothersome that he spoke in such manner. We spoke when we later crossed paths, and it turned out to be a misunderstanding.
Since it was him, I dribbled past him. I was angry because I didn't think what he had stated made sense. He had a lot of heat. After that, he moved to Barcelona, and we had a great conversation about the city and the team."
This interview was conducted soon after Messi's Argentine teammate Angel Di Maria disclosed that Messi had clearly and purposefully targeted Lewandowski during their 2-0 victory over Poland in the previous year.
In the Star+ documentary honoring Argentina's victory in Qatar, Di Maria stated, "Even my grandmother realised that Messi was deliberately confronting Lewandowski."
These are characteristics of him that he occasionally holds onto. Whenever someone brings him up, he tends to take offense.
"There are many who speak about him without regard for him and who are unaware that he is the greatest player in history. Thus, you don't need to say anything to him because, in the end, he becomes enraged and things get worse for opponents."
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