Lionel Messi’s latest Instagram activities have led to fans thinking he has hit back at Karim Benzema’s posts.
On Monday, Argentina and Paris Saint Germain superstar Messi was named the best male player of the year at the Best FIFA Awards in Paris.
The 35-year-old came out on top ahead of PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Benzema.
Since the awards ceremony ended, Benzema has been busy on social media uploading a series of cryptic posts which many think are to express his frustration after missing out on the prize.
The Frenchman first posted a video of a man saying, “Liar, yes, you liar.”
He then went on to post a list of his achievements from this year including all the trophies and individual accolades he has collected, rounding off with a caption that read: “good night.”
However, fans now think Messi has hit back after he posted two pictures of him holding the World Cup trophy on his Instagram story.
One fan said: “Messi told Benzema to go to sleep.”
Another tweeted: “There is a thing named FIFA WORLD CUP & that really matters when it comes to winning awards in Football. But Dear Benzy doesn’t know it.”
A third fan added: “He did what Messi fans do on the comment section of whoever comes to hate.”
Someone else wrote: “Messi himself telling us that nothing left to debate now.. just post this picture and enjoy the drama.”
Whilst a fifth commented: “I love this new Messi!”
Benzema’s teammate, David Alaba was criticised by Madrid fans after he voted for Messi to win.
However, Alaba has stated that the decision was not purely his. He said: “The Austrian national team vote for this award as a team, not me alone. Everyone in the team council is able to vote and that’s how it’s decided.
“Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances and I have often said that for me he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without a doubt.”