LIONEL MESSI was slammed by footy fans after they learned of his ambassadorial deal with Saudi Arabia.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner came up against the Saudis in Argentina’s World Cup opener on Tuesday morning.
But he was booed by fans before he even kicked a ball over his lucrative deal with The Kingdom.
The Athletic reported this week that the Paris Saint-Germain hitman had inked a £25m a year deal with the controversial country in May.
And the Saudis in attendance at the Lusail Iconic Stadium made their feelings known as the all-time great took to the pitch for their Group C clash.
A requirement for Messi’s deal with Saudi requires him to promote the country.
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Footy fans were quick to comment on the controversial deal with Saudi, which has a long history of Human Rights abuses.
One tweeted: “Appears Leo Messi wins either way from today’s match.”
Another said: “Messi has a lucrative deal to promote Saudi Arabia and now he’s playing against them today, no greater promo than this.”
Messi and his Argentina team-mates ended up being beaten by a dogged and determined Saudi side – who produced one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
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La Albiceleste suffered a 2-1 defeat to the minnows – who were a whopping 500/1 to win the tournament before the match.
A stunning second-half strike from Salem Aldawsari condemned Messi and Co. to an embarrassing defeat and put a world of pressure on their shoulders going into their clash with Mexico on Saturday.
And fans couldn’t help but point out the irony that Messi – who opened the scoring – came out on the losing side against the country he’s paid to promote.
One tweeted: “Looks like Messi is taking his new promotional deal with Saudi Arabia a bit too seriously.”
Another said: “Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia makes me want to double back Messi’s deal with them to promote tourism in Saudi Arabia.”
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And another said: “Wasn’t Messi made the face of Saudi tourism for a fortune? And this result follows.”
One chimed in: “Messi has this deal then Argentina loses in quite possibly the biggest upset in World Cup history!”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
