A Real Madrid player’s partner has been met with backlash from furious fans after she called Argentina captain Lionel Messi the “best player in world history.”
Messi has been in sensational form for his country at the World Cup and Argentina inched another step closer to the final after their win over the Netherlands.
The 35-year-old Argentine superstar assisted Nahuel Molina’s first-half opener for Argentina before Messi doubled their lead from the spot-kick in the second half.
However, Wout Weghorst made a sensational impact for the Netherlands after he came off the bench and scored a brace to send the quarter-final tie into extra-time.
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Neither side could break the 2-2 deadlock in extra-time, with the Netherlands and Argentina deciding the match on a penalty shootout.
Messi once again converted from the spot-kick during the shootout, with Lautaro Martinez, Leandro Paredes and Gonzalo Montiel all scoring their penalties, too.
Enzo Fernandez was the only Argentina player to miss their spot-kick, but Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis also failed to find the back of the net for the Netherlands.
Argentina’s 4-3 win on penalties booked them a spot in the semi-finals against Croatia on Tuesday, with Messi’s hopes of winning the World Cup still alive.
Argentine presenter and reporter Mina Bonino, who is the partner of Madrid star Federico Valverde, praised Messi for his performance against the Netherlands.
She took to Twitter and posted a picture of the Paris Saint-Germain superstar holding the Man of the Match award, with Bonino calling Messi the ‘GOAT.’
Bonino wrote in a tweet: “The photo that is constantly repeated, all matches. And he even gave it up in one.
“NOBODY can deny that he is the best player in world history. Even at 35 years old, with a pass he totally changes the game. It is at an impressive level.”
However, it appears that Bonino’s tweet about her fellow countryman might have ruffled the feathers of Madrid fans, who slammed her for her support of Messi.
Madrid fans were quick to throw their support behind Los Blancos legend Cristiano Ronaldo, while others endorsed current Madrid star Luka Modric for his impact at the World Cup.
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The 29-year-old Argentine reporter’s Twitter has been put on private at the time of writing, with the tweet about Messi no longer publicly visible.
Speaking ahead of the semi-finals, Croatia striker Bruno Petkovic insisted that his side won’t only be man-marking Messi in a bid to beat Argentina.
“We don’t have a specific plan yet for stopping Messi and usually we don’t concentrate on stopping one player but the entire team,” he said.
“We will try to stop them as a team and not with man-marking.
“Argentina are not only Messi, they have a number of great players. We have to stop the entire Argentina team.”
Topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina, Football World Cup, Netherlands, Federico Valverde, Real Madrid, Football
Adnan Riaz