As Messi celebrates leading Argentina to victory at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, fans are livid we haven’t had many good photos of him lifting the trophy, after Qatar’s “brazen act of self-indulgence” in which they draped him in a cape, and after a teammate popped up in the background as Messi celebrated on the field with his squad.
A completely innocent celebration by Lautaro Martínez has irritated fans, as the Serie A striker accidentally “ruined” a photo of Messi celebrating Argentina’s World Cup win, according to some fans.
The photo, taken as hordes of players went bonkers on the field, after Argentina won the World Cup final on penalties, showed Messi on Kun Agüero’s shoulders, lifting the World Cup trophy up high.
It also featured teammate Lautaro Martínez in the background, on someone else’s shoulders (perhaps even two people’s), sitting even higher in the frame than Messi.
Though we reckon this only adds to the ambience, some Sport Bible fans are complaining that Martinez took away from what could have been a classic photo.
Instagram user @gen.bond3, to the tune of 1,087 likes, wrote: “Martinez ruined that photo.”
This comes alongside complaints from other Messi fans that they didn’t get to see the iconic shot they had in their mind’s eye of Messi lifting the trophy after being presented with it, after Qatari Emir Tamim handed him a bisht (a kind of see-through black cloak) and FIFA president Gianni Infantino encouraged him to wear it.
Something a little strange about Messi being dressed in Bisht, that black cloak that the emir of Qatar dressed him in before lifting the World Cup. Qatar wants this to be its moment as much as it is Messi’s and Argentina’s. pic.twitter.com/S4Jk6zGRZv
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) December 18, 2022
This kind of cloak is often found in the Middle East, not just in Qatar but in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Messi later took the bisht off in the wild celebrations, but he wore it to lift the trophy. As Optus reports, a bisht is “something that dignitaries wear over a thawb on very formal occasions.” Optus also described the moment as surreal, painting the scene as follows: “Even in this moment, the highlight of Messi’s career, Qatar forced themselves into the centre of the image, an act of brazen self-indulgence that we have witnessed more and more as the tournament progressed.”
“Or maybe it was a touching gift for Messi, a show of respect,” (Optus).
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It’s all swings and roundabouts really though. We’re sure what Messi cares about most is winning the World Cup – not that his teammate accidentally photobombed him, or that he didn’t get the exact celebration shot some fans wanted.
Messi also dropped a bombshell in his post match interview. Though many fans wanted him to retire on the highest of highs he said: “I am not retiring from the Argentina national team. I want to continue playing as a champion.”
Class.
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