‘He had moments where he was human. He had…’: Ibrahimovic on Lionel Messi

4 min readJul 20, 2026 07:47 PM With their 1-0 loss against Spain in the World Cup final at New Jersey on Sunday, Lionel Messi led Argentina to failed to defend their crown. After Messi won his maiden World Cup in the 2022, many were hoping to see the Argentina lifting the trophy in 2026 and create hory.
While French striker Kylain Mbappe won the golden ball with his tally of ten goals, Messi remained stranded at eight goals with no goals coming from him in Sunday’s final against Spain. The 39-year-old had played his part in Argentina’s comeback in the 2-1 win against England in the semi-finals with asss to Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez.
Former Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović believes the Argentine star had an amazing World Cup and there were moments when Messi was human.
“We have enjoyed him during this World Cup. I know he’s sad he didn’t win the World Cup, but he had an amazing World Cup. He kept this team alive. He did some amazing stuff. He had moments where he was human. He had moments where he wasn’t human,” Ibrahimović told FOX Sports.
Sunday’s World Cup final was Messi’s sixth World Cup appearance with the Argentine star playing his first World Cup in 2006. With his eight goals in this World Cup including a Hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina’s group J encounter. Messi is now the second leading goal scorer in World Cup hory with a total of 21 goals.

He had broken Miroslav Klose’s earlier record of 16 goals with his three goals against Algeria before his final tally of 21 goals was overtaken Mbappe with 22 goals in World Cup hory. In the 2022 World Cup, Messi had scored a total of seven goals and won the golden ball becoming only the first player to win the World Cup Golden Ball twice after having won the award in the 2014 World Cup.
While Messi was in tears following the loss, it remains unclear whether he will be playing in the next World Cup in 2030, when he will be 43. Ibrahimović shared how is hopeful to see Messi play in another World Cup. “I hope he can continue to play as much as possible, so we can enjoy him even more. Will we see him in another World Cup? I don’t know, you never know. But we’ve enjoyed him, and we’re happy that he plays the game because we’re going to be very sad when he stops playing,” added Ibrahimović.
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While the final also saw a scuffle breaking out between Argentina and Spain players post the match, Messi was seen in tears. With the Argentine captain missing the chance to win back to back World Cup titles, Messi looked devastated. Former French striker and 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry shared how playing in the World Cup meant a lot for Messi. “Look at what it means to him (Lionel Messi). If you ever had any doubt if the guy still has any fire in his belly, look at him. Look at what it means,” Henry said. “Look at this. Everybody’s clapping, because you’re looking at him and this is what it means to him. You won already, well, everything. And look at the guy. Look at the passion, desire and the love that he has for his country and how much he puts into it.” Henry told FOX Sports.