Why was Lionel Messi given a Ninja Turtle at Argentina’s World Cup trophy parade? Exploring the hilarious Mbappe connection
Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, defeated Kylian Mbappe's France in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The win at the Lusail Iconic Stadium marked an end to La Albiceleste's 36-year-long drought for the grandest footballing glory.
Messi was the star of the show for Argentina as he scored seven goals during the competition, including a brace in the final against Les Bleus. The 35-year-old also provided three assists and was named the winner of the Golden Ball award for the second time in his career.
Argentine players were involved in wild celebrations, including parades on a roofless bus. A few funny moments from Argentina's celebrations surfaced on social media.
One particular instance that grabbed fans' attention was when Messi was thrown a turtle doll at him. Many concluded that it was in a bid to mock Messi's Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) teammate Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman is often compared to the teenage mutant ninja turtle character Donatello for uncanny resemblance in looks.
Lionel Messi saw the funny side of the incident and cracked up. Whether the PSG no. 7 liked his club teammate's reaction or not, is up for debate.
Messi's reaction after being thrown a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy 😅
(via magussf/TT) https://t.co/tk43qZEA49
Fans on social media anticipated tension between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe after the incident
Hilarity ensued on social media after the incident as well. Check out some of the best reactions from fans on the matter:
@ESPNFC Messi when he caught the Ninja turtle... https://t.co/u4ZApnYLWx
@ESPNFC That’s a diss to mbappe
@ESPNFC Yup Mbappe is gonna terminate his PSG contract
@ESPNFC Messi finna get kicked from psg 🤣
@ESPNFC @ItsSalahMate ......😂😂😂 https://t.co/9itZD9ZaFL
@ESPNFC Argentina is disrespecting Mbappe so much
I supported Messi and his era is now over. Lets wait after 10 years and see Mbappe's stats@ESPNFC disrespecting Mbappe🚮 I supported Messi and his era is now over. Lets wait after 10 years and see Mbappe's stats
With the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in their ranks, PSG have one of the best attacking lineups in the world. The Parisians, however, have struggled in recent times. They have won only two out of their past five league games, losing two of them.
Christophe Galtier's team were held to a 1-1 draw in their latest clash against Stade Reims on Sunday, 29 January. The superstar attacking trio was criticized by Reims captain Yunis Abdelhamid. He said (via GOAL):
"It was easy to work the ball out of the defence because the front three [Messi, Mbappé, Neymar] don’t defend. We knew on our side that if we passed this first line, they no longer participate in the collective defensive effort. We worked on that. We wanted to exploit it and that’s what we managed to do. That’s why we created so many chances."