Why Lionel Messi sent Jamie Carragher a DM calling him a ‘donkey’ | OneFootball

Highlights

Jamie Carragher has become one of the most popular football pundits in the game during his career in the media. The former Liverpool man called time on his playing career in 2013 and soon stepped into a new role as a TV pundit and commentator for football. His wild personality and hilarious chemistry with Gary Neville have really endeared him to fans. One man who isn't too impressed with the Englishman, though, is Lionel Messi.

The former Barcelona man took issue with something Carragher said publicly about him and didn't hesitate to reach out to him with a ruthless, but hilarious direct message on Instagram. During an appearance on CBS Sports for the Champions League this week, the former centre-back mentioned the incident and eventually read out the message to an amused Micah Richards, Thierry Henry and the presenter, Kate Abdo.

Considering his position as possibly the greatest player of all time, having Messi turn on you wouldn't be ideal, but Carragher clearly sees the funny side of the interaction. Here's what happened.

What did Lionel Messi say to Jamie Carragher on Instagram?

Following Messi's move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, Carragher was fairly vocal about the move and his doubts about whether it was the right thing for the Ligue 1 side to do. He stated the move wasn't smart business for the French club after the Argentine left Barcelona following 21 years of service. The Inter Miami superstar clearly wasn't happy with the comments and wasted no time letting Carragher know about his thoughts.

During CBS' coverage of the Champions League, the former Liverpool defender revealed he'd had Messi slide into his DMs at one point and quickly read the message out to his peers who were eager to hear more. The message, sent in Spanish, called Carragher a 'Burro'. Initially, he wasn't quite sure what it meant, but Abdo soon informed him that the English translation for the word was 'donkey'. So, Messi, one of the best players ever, messaged the 45-year-old 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.

How did Messi's move to PSG pan out?

In hindsight, Carragher's comments may have been on the nose. He was pretty much spot on with his analysis and after two years, Messi's move to PSG can be described as a bit of a letdown. The club failed to make any real mark on the Champions League and the Argentine left this summer, joining Inter Miami in MLS.

The squad of superstars failed to ever really get on the same page, and he wasn't the only one to quit the Ligue 1 champions this year, with Neymar also jumping ship. Kylian Mbappe is also continuously being linked with a move away, so considering the amount of money spent by PSG for Messi's services and the lack of any real success returned, the move could now be class as bad business by the club. We can't imagine he'll be messaging Carragher to apologise, though.

Check out footage of the moment the defender read the message on live TV below.