“I think he was p***ed off” - MLS star Derrick Williams explains Lionel Messi shirt swap that ‘didn’t happen’ despite promise

MLS defender Derrick Williams has explained why the proposed shirt swap with Lionel Messi didn't happen despite them having a conversation about it. Williams, who switched to the MLS back in 2021 and now plays for Atlanta United, faced the legendary Argentine playmaker five times over the course of 2024.

Williams had hoped to swap shirts with Messi during one of their MLS playoff games, but while Messi had agreed, the shirt swap never took place. Derrick got Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets' jersey instead, as he explained in an interview with The Sun:

"Yeah, we played them five times, we beat them 3-1 at our place and then 2-2 at theirs in the regular season. In the play-offs, we lost 2-1 there, won 2-1 at our place and then won 3-2 in their place."

"I asked him for his shirt after that game and he said, ‘Yeah — inside’. But I think he was p***ed off and it just didn’t happen. I did get Busquets’ jersey last year.”

Notably, during the three MLS playoff matches against Atlanta United, Lionel Messi scored once. However, Inter Miami lost two out of three games and were knocked out of the playoffs. Atlanta United were knocked out in the Conference semi-finals of the MLS Cup, while LA Galaxy eventually won the trophy.

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Lionel Messi's former Argentina teammate says playmaker made "everything he touched turn to gold"

Lionel Messi's former Argentina teammate Angel Di Maria has spoken about the legendary playmaker's quality. Di Maria's comments came after Cristiano Ronaldo referred to himself as the "most complete player who has ever existed."

Angel Di Maria, who played alongside Ronaldo at Real Madrid, disagreed with this statement, explaining that Messi was a better player. He told Infobae (via Mirror):

"[Ronaldo] always tried to be the best, but he was unfortunately born in a generation where there was another player [Messi] who made everything he touched turn to gold."

"The reality is demonstrated in the numbers. One player won eight Ballon d'Or awards [Messi] while the other won five [Ronaldo]. Another key difference is that one has lifted the World Cup [Messi]. There are many differences between the two players."

Di Maria continued:

"If one watches every minute of every match, [Messi] makes it look so easy, as if he were having a kickabout in his back garden."

Indeed, Lionel Messi has won more Ballon d'Or awards than Cristiano Ronaldo. He has also won the World Cup with Argentina - something Ronaldo has not done with Portugal.