Messi slams FIFA bias critics after reaching World Cup final: ‘No one gives us anything for free’

3 min readUpdated: Jul 16, 2026 07:18 AM Lionel Messi slammed his and Argentina’s critics after multiple allegations and claims of FIFA’s favouritism had hit their path towards reaching a second successive World Cup final on Wednesday, beating England 2-1 in Atlanta.
Messi, 39, spearheaded a stunning second-half comeback, producing two asss in the space of six minutes to freeze England, who had previously taken the lead through an Anthony Gordon strike in the 55th minute.
Argentina’s title defence has been shrouded in controversy from the first match itself, with a series of contentious decisions from the officials appearing to have gone in the favour of the world champions. But with the Albiceleste booking their shot at a second successive title, Messi minced no words as he brushed aside the allegations of bias during the tournament.
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“It hurts whoever it hurts, and let them say whatever they want — we proved once again on the pitch that nobody gives us anything,” Messi told TyC Sports.
“We came in under fire, with a lot of doubts around us, but I knew this group always competes. I was sure we were going to be among the final four and, thank God, we made it into the top two.”Story continues below this ad
Messi, who had featured in 205 appearances, was facing off arch-rivals England for the first time in his career.
“If we had lost to England, people would’ve come out and said some nonsense about us, but we didn’t give them the chance. We were lucky enough to win, to get through this, with everything this match means.”
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“We knew that football-wise we were better than them, but a lot is at stake when you play a match of this magnitude, when horical factors come into play. Still, it doesn’t stop being special because of everything it means, and we had to win it,” he added.Story continues below this ad
Messi hails El Diego
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also dedicated the win to the legendary Diego Maradona, who had famously headlined the clash between Argentina and the Three Lions in the World Cup quarter-final 40 years ago. Maradona produced two of his most eye-popping moments in the Argentina shirt in the matter of four minutes in a 2-1 win then, producing the ‘Hand of God’ and the ‘Goal of the Century’.
” Without a doubt, Diego is enjoying this immensely from up there because today was a very special day for him; to be able to give him this joy and for him to experience it however he wants from up there. Let him enjoy it because it’s a gift for him too ,” Messi said after his combined eight goals and four asss put him in sole lead of the Golden Ball race ahead of the final.