Argentina and Benfica winger Angel Di Maria hit back at the former Germany legend after Matthäus made the bold claim that Lionel Messi did not deserve the Ballon d’Or.

Matthäus had originally stated, “Haaland did better than Messi for the entire year. This award is not deserved and it proves that the World Cup counts more than anything. To me, nobody was better than Haaland. He was the best in the last 12 months. He won important titles with Manchester City, setting a record for goals. It was a farce.”

Di Maria did not take kindly towards those words involving his captain and friend Messi and took to Instagram to voice his opinion on the former MetroStars flop’s opinion.

Angel Di Maria defends Lionel Messi

Angel Di Maria saw the quote from Lothar Matthäus on Diario Ole’s Instagram feed, Ole is Argentina’ s number one sports news source. The former PSG winger was quick to jab back, “Cry somewhere else 😂”.

Di Maria himself was a key reason why Argentina won the FIFA World Cup, scoring a pivotal goal in the FIFA World Cup final.

Lothar Matthäus MLS flop

Lothar Matthäus (Getty Images)

Lothar Matthäus (Getty Images)

Unlike Lionel Messi, who has been sensational in MLS since his arrival to Inter Miami, Lothar Matthäus’ time in the league is forgettable and remembered for all the wrong reasons.

The definition of everything MLS does not want to be. Matthäus MLS journey began shortly after the 1999 Champions League Final against Manchester United, you can say that the 38-year-old, 1990 World Cup winner, was one of the best players on the field until he was subbed out that night. When he did arrive in New York to be presented to the media he told local press, while posing for pictures in Times Square, he was a German basketball player signed by the Knicks. It seemed to Matthäus that playing in MLS was a joke, it looked that way, he played 16 games, when he was “injured” Matthäus was photographed in St. Tropez getting a tan.


Incredibly Matthäus speaks wonders about the emerging MLS as a pundit in Germany. Go figure…