Lionel Messi was not happy when Jamie Carragher claimed last year that he was not a great reinforcement for Paris Saint-Germain. The attacker of the Ligue 1 club even sent a private message on Instagram to the former footballer and analyst of Sky Sports, the latter revealed on Friday around the match between Watford and Norwich City (0-3). “Basically, he called me an ass,” said Carragher, while colleague Gary Neville and host Dave Jones could barely contain their laughter.
Jones asked both Neville and Carragher for their own on Friday night EA Sports FIFA Team of the Year to choose. The legend of Liverpool lacked the name of Messi in the team. “No, no Messi in my team. I mean, we had this discussion at the beginning of the season. Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi,” said the former defender. “I was the Messi-man and he (Neville, ed.) de Ronaldo man. But there is no room for both in my team.”
Neville then interrupted Carragher: “Messi isn’t happy with you, is he?” Carragher: “No, he certainly isn’t.” Jones: “Why?” Carragher: “I was a bit critical towards Cristiano at the start of the season. I didn’t think he was a great asset to Manchester United. And I gave Messi as an example. I said then that Messi was not a great reinforcement for PSG.” Jones: “That was during the Monday Night Football broadcast, wasn’t it?” Carragher: “Yeah, that was during Monday Night Football and then I got a private message on Instagram.”
Jones looked surprised: “From none other than Messi?” Carragher: “From none other than Messi. I’m not going to private messages, but the bottom line was that Messi called me a donkey.” The three then had a good laugh. Jones: “So he knows football.” Carragher: “He watches Monday Night Football and I hope he watches Friday Night Football. Messi, I love you very much. You are the best football player of all time. If you compare us, I’m the donkey. I accept that too, but that doesn’t mean you will still be on my team.”
“You didn’t play well enough in the previous calendar year, even if you won the Copa America in the summer. It’s not enough to my husband Mohamed Salah from the team.” Messi has had a somewhat disappointing first half in Paris, partly due to physical problems. In the group stage of the Champions League, the Argentinian was good for five goals in as many matches, but in Ligue 1 his counter stands at only eleven matches, a goal and four assists.