Zlatan Ibrahimovic says the Lionel Messi he witnessed through the Membership World Cup “isn’t the one he is aware of” and believes his Inter Miami team-mates are holding him again.
Miami reached the final 16 of the match in america earlier than a 4-0 thrashing by European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi flitted out and in of the sport in opposition to his former membership and was finally powerless to forestall them from struggling a convincing defeat.
Ibrahimovic was comfortable to absolve Messi of any blame, nevertheless.
“It wasn’t Leo Messi who misplaced, it was Inter Miami,” the previous Swedish ahead advised Foot Mercato of the defeat to PSG.
“Messi performs with statues, not team-mates. He’s surrounded by gamers who run as in the event that they have been carrying baggage of cement.”
‘He must be with higher gamers’
Hypothesis across the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s short-term future re-emerged yesterday when ESPN Argentina claimed Messi was eyeing a short-term loan move prior to next summer’s World Cup.
And Ibrahimovic, who starred in Main League Soccer for the Los Angeles Galaxy and alongside Messi at Barcelona, believes the 38-year-old would profit from enjoying in a greater workforce.
“This isn’t the Messi I do know,” he added. “In the event you put him in an actual workforce, he’d go all out. There are not any coaches, no stars, not even gamers who perceive easy methods to transfer with out the ball. When he performs with [Cristiano] Ronaldo, with [Kylian] Mbappé, with [Erling] Haaland, with Zlatan. Then you possibly can speak.
“If he have been on an actual workforce, any nice workforce, you’d see the true lion.
“Messi performs alone as a result of he loves the sport, as a result of he can nonetheless do what 99% of gamers can’t. However this isn’t the Messi I do know.”
