Mbappe had taken a jibe at the South American teams in May 2022, stating, “In South America, football is not as advanced as in Europe, that’s why when you look at the last World Cups it’s always Europeans who win.” (Reuters)
Argentina’s World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi has given his take on his former Paris Saint Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe’s recent comments, calling Euros more complicated to win than the World Cup.
“He also said that the South American teams didn’t have the same high competition as the Europeans. Everyone values what they play,” Messi told ESPN Argentina.
“The Euro Cup is very important, but it leaves out Argentina, three-time world champion; Brazil, five-time world champion; Uruguay, two-time world champion. There are many world champions left out to say that the Euro Cup is the most difficult, right? In the World Cup, the best teams are there, all the world champions are generally there. That’s why everyone wants to be world champion,” Messi added.
Commenting ahead of 2024 European Championships in Germany, Mbappe had said, “I consider the Euros more complicated than the World Cup, more complicated to win. If we talk about level, the Euros is more difficult because we are so used to play against each other. Tactically, it is similar football.”
It’s not the first time the new Real Madrid signing has invited fire from South American football. He had taken a jibe at the South American teams in May 2022, stating, “In South America, football is not as advanced as in Europe, that’s why when you look at the last World Cups it’s always Europeans who win.”
Coincidentally, it was Messi and Co, who beat France the same year to clinch a third world title in a thrilling penalty shootout finish to the World Cup final in Doha, Qatar.
Mbappe, who was World Cup winner with France in 2018, had recently conceded the European Championships meant unfinished business for him.
“I want to win the Euros. I have to be honest. I won the World Cup. I won the Nations League. That’s the only one that missed me with the national team after I did everything with the national team. I really want to win this. My first competition as captain, so it’s really important for me and it’s always important for the country and we want them to be proud of us. [It’s] another opportunity to write the history of my country,” the French captain told CNN.
Mbappe and Co are grouped alongside Austria, Netherlands and Poland in Group D and kickstart their Euro 2024 campaign next week.
Lionel Messi and Argentina will also be in action this summer as they defend their Copa America title in the United States.
