Lionel Messi has taken to Instagram to respond to Karim Benzema‘s cryptic messages over the FIFA best male player of the year awards.
The Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina superstar beat Real Madrid’s Benzema and PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe to win the prestigious award.
A salty Karim Benzema posted a series of cryptic messages on Instagram following the ceremony hinting at his disappointment. In his first post, he shared a video of a man saying, “Liar, yes, you liar” — taking a shot at FIFA.
Subsequently, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner posted a list of his accomplishments, which comprised all the awards and honors he won in 2022. He concluded the resume drop with “good night.”
But Lionel Messi isn’t buying Benzema’s complaints. The 35-year-old struck back at his former Real Madrid rival with a simple but loud statement — after all, images speak louder than words.
Messi digs back at Benzema
The World Cup winner hit back at the Frenchman with two Instagram Story pics of him holding the 2022 World Cup trophy.
The images spoke volumes. Messi fans replied to Messi’s response to Benzema on Twitter by saying “He’s literally telling Benzema to cry, my goat,” “Messi is shading Benzema,” and “Reminding Benzema he won absolutely EVERYTHING.”
Even Benzema’s teammate David Alaba ended up voting for the Argentine. Of course, the Austrian defender took a step back to save his face, saying “The Austrian national team vote for this award as a team, not me alone. Everyone in the team council is able to vote and that’s how it’s decided.
“Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances and I have often said that for me he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without a doubt.”
In his debut season at Parc des Princes, Lionel Messi scored 11 goals and contributed 15 assists in 34 matches across all competitions, helping Paris Saint-Germain win the Ligue 1 title. But he didn’t win the Best Male Player of the Year for that.
The Golden Ball winner scored seven goals and provided three assists during Argentina’s triumphant 2022 World Cup campaign.
Photos: Instagram/LeoMessi, KarimBenzema
