No, Messi Did Not Say Hakimi’s Goal Against Gabon Was World’s Best
The Claim
Messi: Achraf Hakimi’s goal against Gabon was the best in the world.
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Emerging story
Social media accounts have recently shared a video with a caption attributed to Argentine Saint Germain player Lionel Messi. In the video, Messi allegedly said that the goal scored by his team’s colleague and Moroccan team player Achraf Hakimi against Gabon’s at the Afcon 2021 was “the best goal in the world from the best fullback player in the world.”
Description: The screenshot and YouTube video show the recently circulated claim.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s team investigated the claim and found it fake. The statement attributed to Leo Messi is made up, and the Argentine player did not make any statement in this regard. Leo Messi did not post such news on any of his social media accounts, nor did any reliable sports media outlets.
The claim circulated following the goal scored by Moroccan player Achraf Hakimi against Gabon’s team during the Afcon 2021 match as part of the 3rd group stage, which ended 1-1.
Hakimi scored the equalizer goal from “a direct free kick that landed in the far corner of the Gabon goalkeeper.” This qualifies Morocco’s national team for the 16th round of the Africa Cup of Nations.
French Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe was impressed by Hakimi’s goal and shared a photo of him wearing the team’s uniform in an Instagram story with a caption that said: Are you crazy or what? (or t’es malade ou quoi?), out of astonishment.
Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri
