Zlatan Ibrahimovic says the Lionel Messi he witnessed during the Club World Cup “isn’t the one he knows” and believes his Inter Miami team-mates are holding him back.

Miami reached the last 16 of the tournament in the United States before a 4-0 thrashing by European champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi flitted in and out of the game against his former club and was ultimately powerless to prevent them from suffering a convincing defeat.

Ibrahimovic was happy to absolve Messi of any blame, however.

“It wasn’t Leo Messi who lost, it was Inter Miami,” the former Swedish forward told Foot Mercato of the defeat to PSG. 

“Messi plays with statues, not team-mates. He’s surrounded by players who run as if they were carrying bags of cement.”

‘He needs to be with better players’

Speculation around the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s short-term future re-emerged yesterday when ESPN Argentina claimed Messi was eyeing a short-term loan move prior to next summer’s World Cup.

And Ibrahimovic, who starred in Major League Soccer for the Los Angeles Galaxy and alongside Messi at Barcelona, believes the 38-year-old would benefit from playing in a better team.

“This isn’t the Messi I know,” he added. “If you put him in a real team, he’d go all out. There are no coaches, no stars, not even players who understand how to move without the ball. When he plays with [Cristiano] Ronaldo, with [Kylian] Mbappé, with [Erling] Haaland, with Zlatan. Then you can talk.

“If he were on a real team, any great team, you’d see the real lion.

“Messi plays alone because he loves the game, because he can still do what 99% of players can’t. But this isn’t the Messi I know.”