LIONEL MESSI has been accused of showing his “true personality” with a former Paris Saint-Germain player claiming the Argentina legend has been “caught out”.
The 36-year-old captained his country to World Cup glory last December before then leaving PSG to join the David Beckham-owned Inter Miami in the MLS this summer.
Messi, who has lifted the Ballon d’Or a record eight times, snubbed lucrative deals in Saudi Arabia and a Barcelona return for America and has since secured them their first piece of silverware as they won the Leagues Cup.
Now an ex-PSG ace says that the icon’s image in the eyes of supporters has changed from being a fan favourite to somewhat of a villain, and they also believe he needs to show more humility.
Jerome Rothen, a former French international that retired in 2013, says Messi has acted differently since his glory days at the Nou Camp out on the pitch along with the rest of his Argentina colleagues since becoming world champions.
Messi and Rodrygo were allegedly involved in a spat during Argentina’s win in Brazil in midweek, with the great accused by some media outlets of making a smug remark to his rival.
Rothen, 45, said: “When it comes to their behaviour, they are the first to attack others. Starting with the star of this team, Leo Messi.
“Now that he is a world champion and has had a good rest ahead of the World Cup since two years ago at PSG.
“He used to have the image of a sweet guy, but now he has changed because his true personality is coming out and he got caught.”
Rothen continued: “Today you can’t even touch him anymore. Only when he takes a hit does he make the same comment he made to Rodrygo last night when he said, ‘Hey, I’m a world champion’.
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“The team reflects an image of Argentines. Argentine nationality is like that and you feel superior because of someone else. They could have more class.”
Rothen then suggested that Messi did not deserve his Ballon d’Or and that it should have gone to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland instead.
He added: “It’s shameful! Of course, it’s shameful! For me, Haaland should have won it. Between August 2022 and June 2023, what criteria lead us to believe that Messi is better than the rest?
“There is basically no criterion where he is the number one. If we speak about trophies, he is behind Haaland, even if he did win the World Cup.
“Haaland won everything with Manchester City and of course, you can’t compare based on the World Cup because Haaland is Norwegian.”
