Ranking Lionel Messi’s six biggest head-loss moments after latest MLS blow-up | OneFootball

Lionel Messi is known for being calm and level-headed on the football pitch, but there have been several occasions when he’s snapped.

Whether it’s because of a decision going against him or a strong challenge from an opposing player, a handful of people have managed to get under his skin.

We’ve gone back throughout Messi’s career and have ranked his biggest head-loss moments.

1. “Que miras, bobo”

Messi was more locked in than ever at the 2022 World Cup as he carried Argentina to victory in Qatar.

However, Argentina’s campaign certainly wasn’t a walk in the park and Messi completely lost his head after their triumph against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.

The mind games from the Dutch had started well before kick-off, with manager Louis van Gaal critiquing Messi’s lack of defensive work.

“When they [Argentina] lose the ball and the opponent has possession, he [Messi] doesn’t participate much, and this gives us chances [to exploit],” Van Gaal said.

After scoring in the game, Messi vented his frustration at the Netherlands boss by cupping his ears to Van Gaal during his celebration.

However, that was only the start of the head loss. The Netherlands came from two goals behind to draw the game 2-2, before ultimately losing on penalties.

After the match, Messi delivered perhaps his most famous post-match interview, which quickly became an internet meme.

‘Que miras, bobo’ roughly translates to ‘What are you looking at, idiot’, which Messi said to Wout Weghorst after the game.

It’s undeniably the biggest head loss of his career, although it all worked out in the end as Messi and Argentina went on to lift the World Cup trophy just a few weeks later.

2. Spanish Super Cup 2021

Messi was shown the first red card of his Barcelona career when he lost the Spanish Super Cup final to Athletic Bilbao in 2021.

He became increasingly frustrated throughout the match, having been fouled seven times by Bilbao.

With Barcelona trailing 3-2 in extra time, Messi eventually snapped and lashed out at Asier Villalibre in the final seconds of the game.

He was initially given a yellow card for the altercation, but it was eventually upgraded to red after VAR had intervened.

3. Copa America 2019 defeat

Messi looked like he was at breaking point after being dumped out of the Copa America by Brazil in 2019.

The Argentine star took issue with the officials throughout the game and gave one of his most infamous post-match rants.

“They were not better than us,” Messi said after losing 2-0.

“They found the net early and the second goal came from a penalty [to Aguero] they didn’t award. [The officials] were tired of making bulls**t calls at this Copa and they didn’t go to VAR. It was unbelievable.

“It was like that all match. It was bulls**t that they were doing it all match. There is no excuse, it must be looked into. Hopefully, CONMEBOL does something about these kind of referees.

“Because we did everything to try and advance but [the officials] stacked the deck against us.

“I don’t believe they will do anything because Brazil controls everything, so it is very complicated. But I don’t think we should feel bad for anything. It didn’t happen and we had bad luck.”

4. MLS 2026 season opener

After lifting the MLS Cup last year, Inter Miami are looking to defend its title this year.

However, the 2026 campaign couldn’t have started much worse with Javier Mascherano’s side losing their season opener 3-0 to LAFC.

Messi was visibly frustrated with the officials throughout the game, with a couple of questionable decisions going against his side.

After the game had ended, Messi had to be restrained from entering the officials’ dressing room by Luis Suarez as the 38-year-old looked to have lost his head.

Thanks to Suarez’s intervention, it doesn’t look like Messi will face any consequences for his outburst.

5. Argentina debut

Messi’s debut for Argentina lasted all of 30 seconds as he was almost instantly sent off after being introduced as a second-half substitute against Hungary.

After being fouled by Vilmos Vanczak, Messi retaliated and left the referee with little choice but to show him a straight red card.

“He came through me and had hold of me and I wanted to break free, but the referee interpreted it as though I had tried to shove him away,” Messi explained after the game.

“I went on with a lot of time left in the game, but then what happened, happened.

“It was not like I had dreamed it would be.”

6. World Cup Qualifier 2017

During a World Cup Qualifier against Chile, Messi couldn’t contain his frustrations with the officials.

He particularly took issue with one of the linemen, whom he was seen waving his arms and shouting insults at.

As a result of his actions, Messi was handed a four-game international ban, although this was eventually overturned because of a lack of evidence.