Fact check: Was Messi born in Assam, India?
Congress MP Abdul Khaleque asserted through Twitter that Lionel Messi, the legendary Argentinean football player, was actually born in the Indian state of Assam.
Khaleque is the Lok Sabha representative for Assam’s Barpeta district. Following Argentina’s triumph over France in the FIFA World Cup Final, he used Twitter to make these odd claims.
“#Messi Best wishes from the bottom of my heart. We applaud you for having a connection to Assam, he had tweeted.
On being quizzed about his post by a Twitter user named Aditya Sharma, the Congress leader claimed, “Yes, he was born in Assam.” The tweets have now been deleted.
As expected, his outlandish claims drew widespread mockery on social media. “Yes sir, he was my classmate,” one Twitter user took potshots at the Assam MP.
Yes sir he was my classmate
— V. (@immaturelyyours) December 19, 2022
“After the world cup, Messi and his wife visited Assam…Never forget where you come from,” tweeted another user.
After the world cup messi and his wife visited assam
Never forget where you come from pic.twitter.com/lw6SmMmFXe— Desi Bhayo (@desi_bhayo88) December 19, 2022
“First I thought it was just another social media joke but after checking bio…”, one user expressed doubt on the intelligence of the Congress leader.
First I thought it was just another sm joke but after checking bio…
— Bhiku (@MumbaichaiDon) December 19, 2022
Earlier, a Trinamool Congress spokesperson named Riju Dutta likened the victory of Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Final to that of his political party.
In a tweet, he wrote, “Ei joy sudhu Argentina r jai noi, eta Maa Mati Manusher jai…Jai Bangla (This is just not the victory of Argentina but of Trinamool Congress… Hail Bengal).”
It must be mentioned that Maa Mati Manush (Mother, land and people) is one of the official slogans of the Trinamool Congress. Following social media mockery, Riju Dutta was quick to delete the tweet, just like Khaleque.
In the game last night, Lionel Messi scored two goals while Di Maria scored one to set the stage for Argentina’s victory.
Martinez saving crucial goals in additional time and during the penalties anchored the historic win.
Kylian Mbappe fought like a lone warrior and scored a hat trick to take the game into the penalties, where Argentina’s strikers and Martinez emerged to be better than the defending champions. Messi’s men took home the World Cup after 36 years.
