´Messi plays with statues, not team-mates´ – Ibrahimovic

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hit out at the quality of Inter Miami’s squad, claiming Lionel Messi “plays with statues”.

Miami were the only MLS team to progress to the knockout stages of the Club World Cup, but their campaign came to a halt with a 4-0 defeat to European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

Javier Mascherano’s team did not manage a single shot in the first half. Indeed, PSG scored more goals before the break (four) than Miami completed passes in the final third (three).

Messi finished the game with four shots, but could not help Miami grab a consolation goal.

And though Miami’s squad also includes the likes of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez, Ibrahimovic believes 38-year-old Messi is being held back.

“It wasn’t Leo Messi who lost, it was Inter Miami,” said Ibrahimovic, as quoted by ESPN.

“Messi plays with statues, not team-mates.

“He’s surrounded by players who run as if they were carrying bags of cement.”

5 – The top five players for dribble success rate at the #FIFACWC (min. 15 attempted):

70.6% – Lionel Messi (12/17) @InterMiamiCF
56.3% – Giuliano Simeone (9/16)
50% – M. Olise (14/28), P. Neto (8/16)
47.1% – Vinícius Júnior (8/17)

Eternal. pic.twitter.com/5TEOU9yhhP

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 30, 2025

Messi scored only one goal at the tournament, curling in a sensational free-kick in Miami’s group-stage win over Porto.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also has the highest dribble success rate (70.6%) of the 17 players to attempt at least 15 dribbles so far at the competition.

Ibrahimovic, however, claimed: “This isn’t the Messi I know.

“If you put him in a real team, he’d go all out. There are no coaches, no stars, not even players who understand how to move without the ball. If he were on a real team, any great team, you’d see the real lion.

“Messi plays alone because he loves the game, because he can still do what 99% of players can’t. But this isn’t the Messi I know.”

Miami resume their MLS season this weekend, when they take on CF Montreal. The Herons sit sixth in the Eastern Conference.