Ibrahimovic was asked if the loss was a humiliation for Inter Miami's star player, Leo Messi. However, he insisted that the blame should not be placed on Messi. "Messi didn't lose, Inter Miami did," he said. "Have you seen this team? Messi plays among players who don't seem to know how to work together. If he was playing with a real team, you would see a different level of play."
Ibrahimovic went on to say that Messi only plays because he loves the game and is surrounded by players who can't keep up with him. "There are no coaches, no stars, and no players who understand how to move without the ball," he explained. "You can't blame Messi for playing in a team that doesn't seem to know how to play football."
When asked to compare Messi to other top players, Ibrahimovic said that Messi is still a great player, but he needs to be surrounded by a team that can keep up with him. "If you give him a real team, he'll show you what he can do," he said. "But for now, it's not his defeat, it's the defeat of Inter Miami and football as a whole."