The Messi family seems to be speaking their minds lately. Recently, Lionel Messi took a subtle dig at Kylian Mbappe, after the Frenchman made some eyebrow-raising claims while drawing parallels between the World Cup and the Euros, garnering mixed reactions from the soccer fraternity. Now, the latest to fan the flames is La Pulga’s eldest son, Thiago Messi, who gave a cold shoulder to Mbappe in favor of Erling Haaland, sending netizens into a frenzy.

After Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s the generational talents who have become the center of debate. Comparisons are often made between Mbappe and Haaland, a question that was interestingly put up for a future star like Thiago Messi. To everyone’s surprise, the teenager snubbed the new Real Madrid star saying, “I prefer Haaland as a player over Mbappe because I like him more.”

Certainly, this latest claim from Thiago adds to Lionel’s subtle jibe at Mbappe. For those unaware, the 2018 World Cup winner who is gearing up to represent France in Euro 2024, emphasized that the UEFA-based tournament played among European nations is much more difficult than the World Cup, where all countries can be involved. However, this claim didn’t settle in the eyes of Messi.

In one of the interviews, the Inter Miami star replied, “Everyone values the competition they play in. Obviously, the Euros are a very important tournament with the best teams, but it excludes Argentina, a three-time World Cup champion, Brazil, a five-time World Cup champion, and Uruguay, a two-time World Cup champion.”

While claiming not many WC winners participate in Euros, it’s quite hard to determine if it’s the ‘toughest‘ of all. He also claimed that in the end, everyone wants to be a World Champion. Yet, for now, it’s Thiago’s claims that has disrupted the internet.

Thiago Messi smoking Kylian Mbappe after Lionel Messi has grabbed the eyeballs of the internet!

Thiago Messi choosing Erling Haaland over Kylian Mbappe has currently become the headline of the day. Fans on X, formerly Twitter aren’t letting this one slide easily.

“Like father, like son”—we thought this saying resonates well when we think of Thiago following in his dad’s footsteps to become a soccer star. However, hearing the netizens’ perspective makes us think that the little boy is an exact copy of his superstar father.

https://twitter.com/CulerZG/status/1801686430286008381

256 goals in 308 appearances over 6 years for PSG or even a World Cup win at the age of 18—there is no denying what Mbappe has achieved is truly remarkable. Yet, not many are impressed with the new Los Blancos star and are praising Thiago for his assertion.

https://twitter.com/Yemi_Mighty10/status/1801683702084149282

Even though it’s just an opinion of an 11-year-old boy, it has left the soccer world in shambles as they constantly hail Thiago, while slamming Mbappe with words like ‘fraud.’ Even with such a decent career so far, is there really something that the 25-year-old lacks?  

https://twitter.com/idolmessi30/status/1801684964859331060

One of the biggest allegations that Mbappe has frequently encountered is that he plays selfishly. These claims were mostly echoed during Messi’s stint at PSG and even when he was forming his partnership with Neymar. According to this netizen, Thiago has owned the ‘selfish’ Mbappe.

https://twitter.com/TheImmortalGOAT/status/1801691671656337645

We often compare players based on the numbers they produce. However, this fan believes that in the beautiful game, such comparisons cannot always be made, hence praising Thiago for recognizing this.

https://twitter.com/LA_Neqqa/status/1801708109112476005

The war of words from Lionel Messi and his family seems to have just begun, as fans will certainly engage in countless debates about this in the coming days. Until then, we would like to know your views in the comments.