Jamie Carragher has established himself as one of the most well-liked football pundits in the world. The former Liverpool striker retired from playing in 2013 and soon began a new career as a TV and radio commentator. Carragher’s brash personality and entertaining rapport with Gary Neville have made him a fan favourite. However, one player who isn’t too impressed with the Englishman is none other than Lionel Messi.
Messi was unhappy with something Carragher had said in the media about him, and he didn’t hold back. He sent Carragher a blunt but funny direct message on Instagram. During Carragher’s Champions League appearance on CBS Sports this week, he mentioned the incident and read it out to his fellow panelists Micah Richards, Thierry Henry, and presenter Kate Abdo.
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Given his status as one of the world’s greatest players, it wouldn’t have been ideal for him to turn on you. But Carragher clearly finds the situation amusing.
What happened
Following Messi’s transfer to PSG in 2021, the former Liverpool and England captain was outspoken in his criticism of the move, questioning whether it was a smart business decision for the French giants to buy Messi after 21 years of service to Barcelona. The Inter Miami star was not happy with Carragher’s comments and didn’t hold back.
During CBS’s Champions League coverage, Carragher, a former Liverpool defender, revealed that he had once had Messi send him a DM and read it out to his team-mates, who were eager for more. The DM, which was in Spanish, referred to Carragher as ‘Burro’. “I didn’t understand what it meant at first,” Carragher said, “but Abdo told me that the English version of the word was ‘donkey’.” So one of the world’s best players had sent Carragher a DM calling him a ‘donkey.’
The entire crew thought the matter was hilarious and Carragher saw the funny side, too. When he found out what the word meant, he thanked Messi and clearly didn’t take offence to the message.