Topline
Lionel Messi, one of football’s richest and most famous stars, has been the subject of conspiracy theories by some World Cup observers who accuse FIFA of showing favoritism towards him and Argentina, which reached the World Cup final by beating England on Wednesday.
Messi is one of the richest stars in football, with a net worth of $1.1 billion. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)
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Key facts
Memes of Messi dressed as a princess – some created by artificial intelligence – and flirting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino have spread across social media, some racking up hundreds of thousands of likes, as some World Cup viewers accuse the governing body of showing favoritism towards the football legend.
One post on X has received more than 1 million views and 90,000 likes since Tuesday, accusing Infantino, who is pictured smiling, of being happy because he is said to have “successfully defeated all of Messi’s competitors.”
The TikTok post, which has received more than 2 million likes, baselessly accuses Messi of offering to pay “millions” for extra penalties, adding to the chorus of social media users accusing him of “cheating”.
Critics have called Messi the “FIFA princess” as far back as the 2022 World Cup, but accusations of favoritism have intensified this year after Argentina won a hotly contested match against Egypt with a 3-2 victory in the final minutes of the game.
Others noted that the historically easy path to the semi-finals was for Argentina, who had not faced any of the top 13 FIFA ranking teams before the match, although their comeback victory over fourth-ranked England negated some of these criticisms.
Why did the Argentina-Egypt match spark accusations of favoritism?
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan called the game “unfair” and said his team “suffered injustice” after the referees disallowed Egypt’s goal due to a foul and apparently refused to investigate a possible violation by Argentina. Hassan suggested that FIFA “want to keep the world champion in the competition. They may have wanted Messi to remain in the competition.” The Egyptian Football Association also said after the game that it “cannot remain silent,” saying that “several key incidents raised serious concerns and left deep questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly impacted the game.” Argentina’s football federation also said last week it was investigating a potential hack into its systems after mass emails were sent to journalists calling for “justice” for the Egyptian team. “The robbery will not go unnoticed,” the email said, claiming Argentina won the game thanks to “corrupt calls.”
against
Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s coach, last week denied FIFA allegations of favoritism towards Messi and Argentina. “To be honest, people have been saying these things about Argentina for a very long time,” Scaloni said. “Social media exaggerates everything. That’s where the debate starts. But there was no favoritism.” Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief referee, also dismissed allegations of favoritism in the Argentina-Egypt match, saying that “constructive discussions about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded accusations have no place in our sport.” Collina stated that “no one can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, even the FIFA president.”
what to pay attention to
Argentina will face Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday at 3:00 pm at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Forbes estimate
Forbes estimates that Messi is worth $1.1 billion, making him one of the richest stars in football. He was ranked third on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes of 2026, behind soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and boxer Canelo Alvarez. Messi was ranked second on Forbes’ 2025 list of the highest-paid soccer stars, again behind Ronaldo, with earnings of $130 million. It has brand deals with companies such as Adidas, Lay’s and Mastercard, and in 2024 it launched the sports drink Más+ by Messi. In 2023, Messi signed a contract with the Major League Soccer team Inter Miami.
large number
8. This is how many goals Messi scored at the 2026 World Cup, becoming the top scorer along with the Frenchman Kylian Mbappe.
key background
FIFA is no stranger to allegations of corruption, including those leveled against Infantino. Critics have criticized Infantino for his close ties to President Donald Trump as the United States was one of the host countries for this year’s World Cup. The controversy especially flared up after Trump called Infantino before FIFA overturned the suspension for the red card of American striker Folarin Balogun. Barry Andrews, an Irish member of the European Parliament, criticized FIFA as a “deeply corrupt” organization following Trump’s intervention. Sepp Blatter, the former president of FIFA, called the organization a “dictatorship” in February, accusing Infantino of “subservience” to Trump and kowtowing to him. Blatter was president of FIFA when it became embroiled in a corruption scandal in which executives were accused of rigging World Cup bids in exchange for bribes.
further reading
FIFA chief referee rejects accusations of bias in Argentina’s victory over Egypt (Reuters)