FIFA CWC: 98-Year-Old Grandma ‘Weds’ Lionel Messi Before Inter Miami’s Elimination

• Lionel Messi's Inter Miami were eliminated from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the round of 16
• UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain hammered the MLS team 4-0 in the first half
• 98-year-old grandma was at the sidelines with another special message for Messi before the heavy loss

Lionel Messi’s 98-year-old fan returned with another cheeky message for the Inter Miami star before his team's elimination from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Inter Miami were dumped out of the competition in the Round of 16 after a 4-0 defeat to UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain at the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta.

Portuguese midfielder João Neves scored twice, and Achraf Hakimi also got on the scoresheet. The fourth goal came from an own goal by a defender.

The Herons put up a strong second-half performance to prevent the scoreline from getting even more embarrassing, and could have gotten a couple of goals too.

Grandma ‘marries’ Lionel Messi

98-year-old grandma Pauline Kana returned to the touchline before the match in Atlanta with another message for Lionel Messi.

Kana displayed a placard with the message “Messi, will you marry me?” during Inter Miami’s 0-0 draw against Palmeiras, to which he gave a thumbs up.

The grandma took Messi's thumbs up as an approval, and she returned dressed in a white gown, holding a rose, and this time her placard had the message “Age is just a number” during warmup.

Messi spotted her on the touchline and waved to her, making her smile, and she changed the message on her placard to “I love Messi”, to which the Argentine smiled again.

Kana's grandson, Ross Smith, shared the video on Instagram claiming that his grandmother got married to Messi after accepting her proposal earlier.

Ibrahimovic berates Inter Miami stars

Meanwhile fans trolled Messi on social media after the heavy defeat to the European champions, but former teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic absolved him of blame for the loss.

“Messi's defeat? No, no, don't talk about the defeat as if it were his fault! Messi didn't lose, Inter Miami did,” Ibrahimovic told Foot Mercato.

“Have you seen this team? Messi plays among statues, not teammates! If he were in a real team, in Paris, in Manchester, in any big team, you would have seen the real lion.

The Swedish superman slammed Inter Miami stars and the coach, Javier Mascherano, for their shambolic performances, which he claimed let down the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner.

“Messi only plays because he loves the game, because he can still do what 99% of players can't! But he's surrounded by those who run as if they were carrying bags of cement,” he added.

"Messi is still Messi, but today? It's not his defeat, it's the defeat of Inter Miami and football.”

Fans reacted to Messi’s performance vs Al-Ahly

Legit.ng previously reported that fans reacted to Messi's performance vs Al-Ahly in the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup, claiming he was playing alone.

Messi was Miami's standout player during the competition, with goalkeeper Oscar Ustari also putting up worthy performances for the team.

Proofreading by Omoleye Omoruyi, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng