Lionel Messi became the World Champion after defeating former champs France in a nail-biting encounter in the final of the World Cup 2022. Amid the celebrations, the 35-year-old Argentine also gave a stern answer to Canelo Alvarez with the win.
The final showdown between Les Bleus and the Albiceleste was one of the best matches in the history of the competition. Argentina looked extremely comfortable with a 2-goal lead until the 80th minute.
After that Mbappe scored two goals in as many minutes to take the match to extra time. Both the number 10s scored in the extra time to make the scoreline 3-3 and took the match to a penalty shootout. The eventual winners Argentina beat France by 4-2.
Argentina and Leo Messi’s tournament started with a shock 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia. They, however, redeemed their World Cup hopes with a win against Mexico. But, Lionel Messi started an unexpected rivalry against the Mexicans, as footage showed Messi celebrating and a Mexican jersey close to his feet on the Argentina dressing room floor.
A brief history of Canelo Alvarez’s beef with Lionel Messi
Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez upon seeing the footage tweeted angrily that Messi is disrespecting his country’s flag by ‘cleaning the floor’ with it. He also posted another separate tweet saying, “[Messi] should ask God that I don’t find him.” The post however got removed for violating Twitter’s policy and guidelines.
🎙️ Mike Tyson “Someone named Canelo threatened Messi. If he dares to touch Messi, I’ll have to get back in the ring in a few years!”#ARG | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/0aaejHOXnv
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 29, 2022
Legend Mike Tyson came to Messi’s aid quickly after Canelo’s threat. He said, “Someone called ‘Canelo’ threatened Messi, If he dares to touch Messi, I will have to return to the ring”, Mike said to BBO Sports. Argentine MMA fighter Santiago Ponzinibbio also came out and asked him not to threaten Messi, otherwise, he is messing with him and the entire Argentina.
Canelo 🤝 Messi #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/vdoLLx7N9v
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 20, 2022
Canelo however felt that he is wrong and apologized to Messi. He said, “These last few days I got carried away by the passion and love I feel for my country and made comments that were out of place so I want to apologize to Messi and the people of Argentina.” He accepted his mistake and said he learned from it.
Argentine MMA fighter Santiago Ponzinibbio sat for an interview and talked about Lionel Messi’s reaction to Canelo’s threats. He said, “I have a very good friend who’s friends with both of us. Sometimes I talk with him (Messi) on the phone. Very nice, very humble. And also, when that happened, with the Canelo thing. I talked to him, and my friend sent him everything and he laughed, you know. He watched everything, and he laughed.”
Ponzinibbio talked about his fellow Argentinians in high regard. He said, “And we know, this is what they say, you can’t judge for one little thing. If you watch the video, he’s(Messi) doing nothing. The first thing. And the second thing, you can’t judge Messi for a little thing.”
“Look at his career, he’s super professional. Not only the best, but he’s also an example, you know. He’s a humble guy, you know. And I think, you know, the direction are bad but he(Canelo) said sorry, and that’s about the past”, about Messi and the misunderstanding with Canelo.
Santiago talked about Messi’s move to the USA, “It would be good if he comes to Inter (Miami)”, about Lionel Messi’s rumored move to the American club. At the end of the day whatever happened in the dressing room with the Mexican shirt wasn’t intentional. Canelo reacted in anger and he misunderstood the situation. His apology to the World Champion has settled the situation completely.
