Messi's World Cup Legacy Takes a Battering from Unlikely Critics

The dust has barely settled on Argentina's World Cup triumph, but the recriminations are already flying thick and fast—and they're aimed squarely at Lionel Messi, whose crime appears to be insufficient contrition over his teammates' behaviour.

One particularly notable commentator has taken it upon himself to demand Messi issue an apology for the on-field theatrics that marred the final. The complaint? That Messi has offered not a word of regret for the fracas involving his teammates following defeat, and crucially, that he's failed to acknowledge how this particular World Cup final ranked among the worst the writer has personally attended. That's right—Messi is apparently being held responsible for the tournament's entertainment value relative to one man's career-long attendance record.

The same scribe has gone further still, revealing that he's revised his all-time rankings of footballing greats downward for Messi specifically. Where once the Argentine was ranked third, he's now languishing lower, having been demoted by association with his teammates' indiscretions. The writer even adds, with remarkable candour, "We all make mistakes"—a statement that rather proves his own point.

This demotion comes despite Messi's eight goals in the tournament, making him the competition's all-time leading scorer, plus four assists to boot. Apparently none of that matters when weighed against the behaviour of Enzo Fernández and Leandro Paredes during the match.

There's also been considerable fuss about Argentina's failure to conduct mixed-zone interviews post-match, with one tabloid branding this a "crime against football." The fact that players were simply adhering to their own preferences regarding media engagement seems to have been lost in the moral outrage.

Elsewhere in the week's football commentary, there's been the small matter of transfer speculation involving Dan Gore, a League One Player of the Year, who's apparently facing the axe due to some vaguely-defined "brutal rule" being implemented at Manchester United. Though quite what this rule actually entails remains mysteriously unclear.

On a lighter note, the BBC has devoted resources to warning supporters about counterfeit football shirts, citing fire safety concerns. The investigation revealed that fake kits can be purchased for as little as £12, compared to genuine Premier League strips starting at £85. One might suggest the price differential is the rather obvious culprit behind counterfeit demand, though the corporation appears to prefer framing it as merely "a contributing factor."

Finally, there's been a revisiting of Pelé's decades-old prediction that an African nation would win the World Cup. One prominent commentator suggests this outcome is "coming closer and closer," despite the fact that Morocco were the only non-European side to reach the quarter-finals in this tournament—and they were dispatched comfortably by a fourth-place France. Given that Morocco actually reached the semi-finals in 2022, one might argue the opposite trajectory is more evident.