Ousmane Dembélé Sends Strong Warning About Lionel Messi Ahead of World Cup
The 2026 FIFAWorld Cup finally arrived, and Thursday’s opening matchups didn’t disappoint. Hosts Mexico kicked things off with a 2-0 win over South Africa in front of more than 80,000 fans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. And hours later, South Korea came back to beat Czechia 2-1 at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, sealed by a stunning late winner by Oh Hyeon-Gyu in the 80th minute.
But while the action on the field drew headlines, arguably the biggest storyline came from a stunning comment made by French star Ousmane Dembele.
Fresh off a Ballon d’Or season with PSG, Dembele sat down with MARCA and dropped a bombshell: “Lionel Messi is the best player I’ve ever seen. He’s 38 but he’s still fantastic and dangerous … His quality never gets old. We have to be very careful, Leo can still win the World Cup.”
It’s no secret that Messi is one of the greatest soccer players of all time, so his statement isn’t inaccurate. What’s surprising, however, is that he plays with Kylian Mbappe, who is widely considered one of the best players on the planet right now.
Instead of backing his own teammate, he chose to back the enemy.
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Argentina beat France in the unforgettable World Cup final in Qatar in 2022. Mbappe scored a hat-trick in a losing effort, while Messi lifted the trophy. Mbappe won with the Golden Boot award (top scorer), ending with eight goals and two assists, while Messi earned Golden Ball honors (best overall player), finishing with seven goals and three assists.
That defeat still stings in France, and Argentina remains one of Les Bleus fiercest World Cup rivals heading into this tournament. Both teams are listed among the betting favorites to win the whole thing, and there’s a very real chance they will meet at some point down the line in the knockout stages.
So, when Dembele, who played alongside Messi for four years at Barcelona, made the effort to hype him up over his own national teammate, it raised eyebrows, to say the least.
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Neither France nor Argentina have kicked off their World Cup campaigns yet. France open Group I against Senegal on Tuesday, June 16, at MetLife Stadium, while Argentina begins their title defense in Group J against Algeria on June 16 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
At 38, Messi is looking to recapture that Qatar magic in what will likely be his final World Cup.
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 9:54 AM.