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Argentina captain Lionel Messi weighed in on Kylian Mbappe's comments about the European Championships being more complicated than the World Cup.
Lionel Messi is the latest Argentine to respond to Kylian Mbappe's comments, in which he claimed that the European Championships were more complicated than the World Cup.
Mbappe led the France team that lost the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina in Qatar; however, he had previously tasted success in the competition when Les Bleues dominated world football in Russia 2018.
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He has yet to win the Euros, however, having crashed out in dramatic fashion against Switzerland in the 2020 edition of the tournament played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mbappe's comments
Speaking to French journalists as he and the rest of Deschamps’ 25-man squad prepared for the Euros, Mbappe stressed the complexity of the tournament.
“The Euros are complicated. For me, more complicated than a World Cup,” Mbappe said.
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“Even if there is more pressure at the World Cup. All the teams know each other, we play against each other all the time. Tactically, it is very similar.”
Messi's rebuttal
Speaking to Martin Aravelo of ESPN Argentina, Messi suggested that Mbappe was biased, referencing an even older comment from the Frenchman, where he said that European football was more competitive than South American football.
"Mbappe saying that Euro's are more difficult than the World Cup? He also said that the South American teams didn't have the competition of the Europeans. Everyone values what they play,” Messi said, per Albiceleste Talk.
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Messi acknowledged the prestige of the Euros but believes it can never match the allure of the World Cup because the great South American teams do not participate in it.
"The Euro Cup is very important, but it leaves out Argentina, three-time world champion; Brazil, five-time world champion; Uruguay, two-time world champion. There are many world champions left out to say that the Euro Cup is the most difficult, right?
"In the World Cup, the best teams are there, all the world champions are generally there. That's why everyone wants to be world champion.”
Messi and Mbappe were teammates at Paris Saint-Germain for two seasons, and they won two Ligue 1 titles together.
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