The Argentinian star Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever to have graced the Soccer pitch. Despite winning a World Cup and the prestigious Ballon d’Or seven times, a subsection of the people still disregard him. During the FIFA World Cup nine months ago, a former UFC title challenger joined this bracket by calling Messi a ‘bum’ on Twitter. However, now the UFC legend seems to have changed his tunes on the Inter Miami star during an interview with the famous MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.
‘The American gangster’ Chael Sonnen lives up to his moniker and never shies away from sharing his opinion. Perhaps that’s why his statements can stir controversy in the community and are subject to criticism. But this wasn’t the case when he spoke about the World Cup winner.
Chael Sonnen reveals why he admires Lionel Messi
During his conversation with Helwani on the MMA Hour, the UFC legend was commenting on the journalist’s character. That’s when he stumbled upon Messi’s relationship with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo.
Messi’s loyalty to his wife impressed the former UFC fighter. And Sonnen revealed this was the reason he liked the former Barcelona FC star. He said:
“I do like this Messi character, though. There’s [this] thing came out on [Lionel] Messi said that he met his wife when he was like 7 years old and he’s never touched another girl, won’t even do pictures with them. I like that guy. I didn’t realize all that. That’s a pretty cool story.“
Apparently, this statement came after Sonnen’s Tweet back in December 2022, where he thrashed Soccer legends, Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi. However, this isn’t surprising, as the MMA community regards him as the ‘Bad Guy’ of the sport.
Thus, he never stops calling out and thrashing athletes. This was evident from the same treatment recently given to the UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Sonnen called out Khabib Nurmagomedov for his top 15 MMA GOAT list
In April 2022, the former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed his GOAT list on Twitter, in which he mentioned Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and a few other renowned names. However, it didn’t sit well with Chael Sonnen as the Dagestani had left out himself and his fierce rival Conor McGregor.
The UFC legend stated that ‘The Notorious’ had won 2 titles in distinct divisions and held several records in the sport. Thus, Sonnen argued that McGregor deserved a place in the esteemed list somewhere in the top 15.
No matter which sport, they are all surrounded by the GOAT debate. Many experts and fans have often given their take on the GOAT debate and it will always be a polarising opinion, just like Nurmagomedov’s list.
