SUMMARY
- Messi has been once again on the front pages of the newspapers following his historic FIFA The Best win
- Casillas has rather cryptically taken a swipe at Messi and blasted FIFA for their decision.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s ex-teammate and Spanish legend Iker Casillas has generated controversy with his recent statement regarding Lionel Messi. Messi has been once again on the front pages of the newspapers following his historic FIFA The Best win yesterday. However, Casillas has rather cryptically taken a swipe at Messi and blasted FIFA for their decision.
Lionel Messi recently beat Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to win his eighth FIFA The Best. The Best award is decided by national team captains, coaches, media, and fans alike. Taking into account all the votes, Messi and Haaland were tied on 48 points. However, Messi had the edge over Haaland due to more national team captains voting in his favor.
Lionel Messi has been named The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2023.
🥇 Lionel Messi – 48 points
🥈 Erling Haaland – 48 points
🥉 Kylian Mbappé – 35 points➡️ Lionel Messi received 107 “five-point” scores compared to Erling Haaland’s 64 pic.twitter.com/6Pz3BRuVVw
— Crockvibes Media (@crockvibes) January 15, 2024
However, according to Iker Casillas, Lionel Messi‘s triumph wasn’t deserving. The former Spanish goalkeeper wrote a controversial yet cryptical statement on X (formerly known as Twitter). He wrote in Spanish, “You create some nice prizes and you are taking them away by not doing things fairly. “The Smile” more like. Anyway, good night!“
– Iker Casillas: “You create some nice awards and you are taking them away by not doing things fairly. ‘The Smile’ award more like.”
– Casillas’ votes in 2012, when Leo Messi scored 91 goals and was a clear candidate to win: 1. Ramos, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Xavi. pic.twitter.com/cxW0mDoQLm
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) January 16, 2024
While Casillas didn’t mention FIFA or Lionel Messi, it isn’t rocket science to figure out what the 2010 World Cup winner was trying to indicate. Nevertheless, Casillas’ statement might make Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi’s arch-rival, happy. Over the past few years, Ronaldo has often rather publicly displayed his displeasure over Messi’s achievements. Surely, the Portuguese ace wouldn’t be very happy with Messi’s The Best win.
Iker Casillas backs Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi in the GOAT debate
Meanwhile, Iker Casillas also hasn’t held back in backing Cristiano Ronaldo in the GOAT debate. Ronaldo and Casillas and Ronaldo spent six years together at Real Madrid where they won a multitude of trophies including a Champions League. When asked to weigh in on the GOAT debate, the ex-Real Madrid skipper didn’t hesitate to back his former teammate.
Iker Casillas:
Cristiano or Messi?
“Cristiano” 🐐pic.twitter.com/emZbPkTgLZ
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) March 2, 2023
Nevertheless, Iker Casillas hasn’t also shied away from appreciating Lionel Messi’s greatness. Back in 2019 when Messi scored a last-minute winner for FC Barcelona against Atletico Madrid, Casillas celebrated the former FC Barcelona star’s perfect strike. He sent out a tweet about the game and added a “goat” emoji for the 2022 World Cup winner.
Moreover, Iker Casillas was also on the receiving end of Budweiser’s tribute to Lionel Messi. When Messi broke the late Brazil legend Pele’s record of most goals scored for a single club, Budweiser started a campaign where they sent a bottle of beer to every goalkeeper for each goal Messi had scored against them. Undoubtedly, Casillas received as many as 17 bottles for the 17 goals that the Inter Miami star had scored against him.