Endrick deletes Lionel Messi tweet after Argentina 3-0 Croatia at Qatar World Cup | OneFootball

Endrick, the Brazilian wonderkid who is expected to join Real Madrid, posted – and then deleted – a tweet about Lionel Messi during Argentina’s 3-0 win over Croatia on Tuesday.

Argentina booked their place in Sunday’s World Cup final thanks largely to Messi’s brilliance.

The standout performer of the Qatar World Cup, who now sits level with France’s Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot award with five goals to his name, scored the opening goal from the penalty spot and went on to provide a contender for best assist of the tournament.

The 35-year-old also had a hand in Julian Alvarez’s first goal of the night and subsequently picked up another 2022 World Cup Man of the Match award after the final whistle.

Messi has, in the eyes of many, further cemented his status as the greatest footballer of all time in recent weeks.

And those who still believe he’s behind the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona unless he wins the World Cup, despite all he’s achieved during his illustrious career, may also concede that Argentina’s current No. 10 belongs right at the top on the pantheon of all-time greats if he can drag his country past either France or Morocco this weekend.

Brazilian icon Ronaldinho was in the Lusail Iconic Stadium to watch his former Barcelona teammate’s latest masterclass and was seen applauding in the stands.

Ronaldinho’s compatriot, 16-year-old Endrick, tweeted his praise for Messi during Tuesday’s match.

It was reported last week, by the likes of Fabrizio Romano and ESPN, that Endrick will join Real Madrid in a deal worth €72 million.

But because the Palmeiras starlet doesn’t turn 18 until 2024, he won’t be able to move to the Bernabeu until the summer of that year.

What did Endrick tweet about Messi?

While watching Messi destroy Croatia, Endrick tweeted: “Messi is absurd man, that’s it” along with an alien emoji.

Translation via @TeamLeo10i on Twitter.

@GremioPower claims the translation is closer to: “Messi is absurd. Mate, what’s this?!”

In any case, the gist of the message is that Endrick thinks Messi is absurd.

He’s not wrong, is he?

Why did Endrick delete his Messi tweet?

The tweet soon went viral and eventually led to Endrick deleting it.

There are claims that Endrick deleted the tweet due to backlash from Real Madrid supporters, who were never going to take kindly to one of their (future) players praising Barcelona’s greatest ever player.

But as football writer Muhammad Butt said on Twitter: “The fact that Endrick deleted this tweet is so, so sad.”

Messi has given joy to millions of football fans all over the world and a young footballer like Endrick should be free to tweet complimentary things about any other player without fear of repercussions.

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