6 Footballers Whose Reputations Took A Battering At World Cup 2018
4. Lionel Messi
Perhaps Messi would have been overlooked on this list had Cristiano Ronaldo had a quiet tournament. The old adage would have come out that these are two world-class players let down by the rest of their fellow nationals.
However, with Ronaldo taking Portugal by the scruff of their neck and leading them almost single-handed to the knockout stages via a winner against Morocco and a headline-grabbing hat-trick versus Spain, all eyes were on Messi, who failed to deliver.
Granted, his goal against Nigeria was a sensational morale-boost for the Argentinians, but he was anonymous in the Croatia game, missed a penalty against Iceland and continued his record of never scoring in the World Cup knockout rounds in Argentina's loss to France on Saturday.
There's much speculation that he may retire from international football following this tournament and whilst his world-class pedigree can never be questioned, he once again failed to produce on the world stage.