British journalist, Piers Morgan has shaded Argentina football star, Lionel Messi for “quitting elite football three years earlier” than his counterpart, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Recall Ronaldo forced his way out of Manchester United following a damning interview with Morgan that targeted the club and its manager Erik ten Hag.
The Portuguese star was widely criticized for taking a mega-money deal to join Al-Nassr, rather than continue at the highest level in Europe.
Now, with Messi, 35, leaving Paris Saint-Germain and heading Major League Soccer, Morgan has criticized the player for making the move.
“So, Messi quits elite football at 35, three years earlier than Ronaldo,” he tweeted.
“Presumably, we’ll now read/hear all the same scathing, mocking pieces by sportswriters/pundits that they wrote/said about Cristiano – right? (Spoiler alert: we won’t.)”
Messi, the reigning World Cup champion and Argentina captain, has confirmed he has decided to join Inter Miami.
The news was reported by prominent Spanish journalist Guillem Balague on Wednesday afternoon, and Messi officially announced his decision later in the evening.
Piers Morgan Slams Messi For Quitting Elite Football Three Years Earlier Than Ronaldo
British journalist, Piers Morgan has shaded Argentina football star, Lionel Messi for “quitting elite football three years earlier” than his counterpart, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Recall Ronaldo forced his way out of Manchester United following a damning interview with Morgan that targeted the club and its manager Erik ten Hag.
READ ALSO: Messi Edges Closer To Joining Inter Miami
The Portuguese star was widely criticized for taking a mega-money deal to join Al-Nassr, rather than continue at the highest level in Europe.
Now, with Messi, 35, leaving Paris Saint-Germain and heading Major League Soccer, Morgan has criticized the player for making the move.
“So, Messi quits elite football at 35, three years earlier than Ronaldo,” he tweeted.
“Presumably, we’ll now read/hear all the same scathing, mocking pieces by sportswriters/pundits that they wrote/said about Cristiano – right? (Spoiler alert: we won’t.)”
Messi, the reigning World Cup champion and Argentina captain, has confirmed he has decided to join Inter Miami.
The news was reported by prominent Spanish journalist Guillem Balague on Wednesday afternoon, and Messi officially announced his decision later in the evening.
Messi said: “I made the decision that I’m going to go to Miami. I still haven’t closed it one hundred per cent. I’m missing some things but we decided to continue on the path. If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more for my family.”
The Argentine’s long-term Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets has also been heavily linked with a move to the club, but Messi insisted his decision had been made for the best interests of himself and his family, rather than a Stateside reunion.
READ ALSO: Messi: PSG Star Prepares To Decide His Future As English Clubs Show Interest
“I had offers from other European teams but I didn’t even evaluate them because my idea was to go to Barcelona and, if that didn’t come about, then leaving European football after winning the World Cup was what I needed,” he said.
“Now I will close my career in this country and experiencing the MLS in a different way, enjoying the day-to-day much more – but with the same responsibility of wanting to win and always doing things well but with more peace of mind.
“I am also in a moment where I want to get out of focus a bit, think more about my family. I spent two years at a family level that was so bad that I didn’t enjoy it. I had the month that was spectacular for me for having won the World Cup, but removing that was a difficult stage for me.”
Messi confirmed Barcelona did make an approach for his return but added that he had remained hurt by the manner of his departure from the Nou Camp two years ago, which he made clear at the time was not a decision of his own making.
The risk of Barca’s ongoing financial troubles and the restrictions over their transfer business were too much to deal with, he added, saying he had intentionally announced his next move early in the summer for his own peace of mind.
He said: “I really wanted, I was very excited to be able to return [to Barcelona], but after having experienced what I experienced and the exit I had, I did not want to be in the same situation again.
“I heard that they had to sell players or lower players’ salaries and the truth is that I didn’t want to go through that, nor take charge of obtaining something that had to do with all that.
READ ALSO: Lionel Messi’s Decision To Return To Barcelona “Depends 99 Percent On Him”- Xavi
“LaLiga had given the okay, but it is not true that the decision was mine over a return, because many things were missing. it is a long summer in which I do not want to go through what I already went through again.
“We never even got to a stage of talking about a contract. A proposal was passed over, but never a formal, written, signed proposal, because there was still nothing and we did not know if it was going to be possible or not.
“There was the intention, but we couldn’t advance anything, we didn’t even talk about money formally. If it had been a matter of money I would have gone to Saudi Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me and the truth is that my decision was for the other side and not for money.”
