After a sweet victory over Mexico in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi suddenly encountered unnecessary troubles from this central American country.
Maria Clemente Garcia Moreno, a well-known transgender activist in Mexico, has petitioned the National Assembly to forbid the entry of world-famous Lionel Messi.
The Mexico jersey sits at Messi’s feet in the locker room following the Argentina and Mexico match, which served as the opening round encounter in Group C for the 2022 World Cup.
Messi is seen kicking the team’s jersey in the video clip depicting Argentina’s jubilation following their 2-0 victory over Mexico. It is well known that the shirt in question was given to the 35-year-old great by Mexican player Andres Guardado.
In the document submitted by Maria Clemente Garcia Moreno, it is stated that “The Chamber of Deputies of the Confederation of Honor respectfully urges the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a corresponding Declaration prohibiting entry into the territory of Mexico for the citizen of Argentina, Lionel Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccitini, for showing contempt and disrespect towards Mexico during the FIFA World Cup on Saturday, November 26, 2022.”
Prior to that, Mexican middleweight boxer Canelo Alvarez declared that if he ever met Messi, he would “treat” him. After widespread public outrage, the boxer later apologized to the PSG superstar and claimed that his actions were simply an outburst.
Andres Guardado, the captain of the Mexican squad and the owner of the shirt, recently defended Lionel Messi before the controversy surrounding the incident: “The Messi I am familiar with. However, I think it’s foolish, it doesn’t matter since Canelo Alvarez doesn’t understand how things are in the dressing room, which is why he behaves that way. Leo shared several moments with people besides me. Those items are undoubtedly intended to stir up controversy and damage Messi’s reputation.”
After helping Argentina defeat Australia in the round of 16, Messi is now preparing for Argentina’s quarterfinal matchup with the Netherlands. The former Barça great is excited to hold the renowned gold trophy, the lone prize still unclaimed in his clean trophy cabinet, after scoring three goals at this year’s World Cup.
Frenkie De Jong admits “having no idea” on how to stop Messi
After successfully defeating the US in the 1/8 round, the Netherlands proudly advanced to the quarterfinals – where they will face Argentina. This is clearly a difficult challenge for the European representative because the representative of Tango is a powerful collective, especially with the appearance of superstar Lionel Messi.
In the Dutch squad, De Jong is probably more familiar with El Pulga than when the midfielder spent many years fighting with the Argentina captain at Barcelona. That player will most likely also be arranged by head coach Louis Van Gaal to accompany Messi in the next match.
Most recently, when sharing with ESPN, De Jong made statements regarding Messi as well as how to prevent this player. Specifically, he said:
“Since I am familiar with Messi, I must admit that I have no idea how to stop him. Since he has been the difference-maker for around 15 years, it is impossible to stop a player of his caliber.
Usually, he contributes even during training sessions. So, rather than relying on a single player, we must play as a team in order to stop Messi.”
The Barcelona midfielder De Jong’s statement demonstrates how much he respects his former teammate. El Pulga is undoubtedly in excellent form and spirit right now, making it very challenging for all defenses to stop the 35-year-old superstar.
Along with the previously mentioned messages, De Jong also has his opinion on the upcoming quarterfinals. Therefore, he claimed:
“Argentina is a great team with many great individuals but we are also a quality team. Personally, the odds of winning both sides are 50/50.
The last time they met at the World Cup, Argentina defeated the Netherlands in the semi-finals of the 2014 tournament after a series of brainstorming shootouts.