Piers Morgan has again taken a shot at Lionel Messi. (Image: Getty)
If there is anyone who knows how to bait football fans on social media, it’s Piers Morgan. The fanatical Arsenal fan has long used his platform on X, which exceeds 8.9million followers, to spark divisive debate and has become an expert in riding the waves of fury and vitriol that so often follow.
Sure enough, the Piers Morgan: Uncensored presenter has now been at it again. He was reacting to ESPN’s attempt to rank the top players of the 21st century, with Lionel Messi at the top of the pile. The Argentinian World Cup winner was followed by Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, and Luka Modric.
Morgan, of course, was having none of it. He replied with the remark: “They got it wrong,” before naming his own quintet, with ‘CR7’ out in front from Ronaldo Nazario, Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, and Lionel Messi.
The 59-year-old naming the Al-Nassr striker as his No.1 was of little surprise. A long-time friend of the Portuguese icon, he’s relentlessly reiterated his belief the player is the ‘GOAT’, notoriously doubling down on that view in the immediate aftermath of Messi lifting the World Cup trophy in December 2022.
Morgan is an long-time admirer of former Arsenal great Thierry Henry. (Image: Getty)
His inclusion of former Arsenal player Thierry Henry above the LA Galaxy star has prompted further outrage, though. Sure enough, supporters soon piled in to criticise his apparent bias, with @jerryjewfin writing: “Henry isn't even better than Zidane. Stop.”
@TedHZhang added: “Piers, you have many great takes, but this is one of the worst ever. Messi at 5th?” @deechopra69 suggested Morgan was guilty of ‘Messi Derangement Syndrome’, playing on the term the celebrity himself uses for people who criticise US President Donald Trump, and added: “You’re delusional. Make no mistake, Messi is the GOAT!”
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Not that the backlash will perturb Morgan. Within minutes, his post had racked up hundreds of comments and just short of 150,000 views, figures likely to satisfy him considerably more than whether people agree.
Indeed, he immediately added more fuel to the fire afterwards, replying to @TedHZhang by saying: “Messi’s not even the best Argentinian player ever. That’s Maradona.”
