Erling Haaland and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s recent on-camera chat saw the pair marvel at 39-year-old Lionel Messi’s accomplishments at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Even with the high bar associated with Lionel Messi, he’s shattered expectations with 12 goal contributions in just 7 games in the 2026 World Cup, leading Argentina to another Final.
Former teammate Ibrahimovic and Norway’s Haaland have both been left mesmerised by Messi.
Lionel Messi’s brilliance earns Erling Haaland and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s admiration
During a chat between Zlatan and Haaland, the young Norwegian marvelled at Messi’s brilliance at the 2026 World Cup, while the retired Swede highlighted Messi’s brilliance from their past time as teammates.
Erling Haaland: “Even Messi is so f—– good. You’ve been with Messi.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: “He’s good. Quiet guy, but very good. He’s natural, everything is natural.”
Messi and Zlatan were teammates on the 2009-10 FC Barcelona squad that won a domestic double. Ibrahimovic’s time in Barcelona was cut short after one season due to differences with manager Pep Guardiola.
Haaland is 14 years younger than Messi, but was comprehensively outplayed by the Argentine over the competition.
Zlatan has always been a vocal supporter of Messi, despite one of the main reasons for his fallout with Guardiola being that he and Messi did not mesh well tactically.
Nonetheless, Ibrahimovic has always admired Messi’s game. Fox Sports shared a 180-second montage of Zlatan’s praise for Messi during the 2026 World Cup, highlighting how much he respects his former teammate.
Haaland did initiate the praise, so it’s clear Messi’s influence has spread across generations of fans.
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