According to Javier Pastore, Kylian Mbappe playfully referred to Lionel Messi as a “son of a b*tch” after Argentina’s World Cup final victory over France.

Despite Mbappe scoring a hat-trιck for Les Bleus, Argentina, led by captain Messi, emerged victorious in a penalty shootout in Qatar in 2022. 

Pastore shared that he had a conversation with Mbappe in the Paris Saint-Germain dressing room months later, where the young forward jokingly mentioned Messi’s impact, saying, “Noooo, this ᶊǫᶇ ǫᶂ ᶏ ᶀᶖƫꞔⱨ Messi who beаt us in the World Cup…” It was meant as a lighthearted remark, suggesting that Mbappe felt Messi single-handedly led Argentina to victory. 

While Messi subsequently left PSG to join Inter Miami in the final stages of his career, 25-year-old Mbappe is expected to finalize a move to Real Madrid in the upcoming summer transfer window after informing PSG of his intention to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.