Soccer Legend Lionel Messi moonlights as a 'Mossad Agent' - Everything you need to know
Argentine TikToker Miclo’s bizarre attack on Lionel Messi has shocked the internet, spreading bizarre and baseless conspiracy theories linking the football star to Israeli intelligence.

For reasons no one can understand, popular Argentine TikToker Miclo, with millions of followers, unleashed a vitriolic video accusing football legend Lionel Messi of being “an ugly, cold-hearted person” who “works for the Israeli Mossad.” Posted overnight between Monday and Tuesday, the video falsely claims Messi collaborates with Israel in “actions against Muslims worldwide,” weaving baseless allegations of his involvement in intelligence operations.
Messi, currently preparing for Inter Miami’s Club World Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain, finds himself targeted not for his play but for unfounded political accusations. Miclo, reportedly close to Venezuela’s anti-Israel leader Chávez Maduro, escalated his attack by calling Messi a friend of a “traitorous Nazi,” referring to an Israeli soldier whose image was initially blurred before being revealed. Manipulated images of Messi in an IDF uniform circulated online, with captions like “He works for Israel,” further fueling the controversy.
While some social media users decried Miclo’s claims as “unhinged,” others endorsed the video, reflecting a broader surge in antisemitic rhetoric. Israel Hayom noted a 20,000% increase in Persian-language antisemitic posts since Israel’s war with Iran began, contextualizing the incident within a rising tide of hate.
Looking back:
Messi has visited Israel multiple times for football-related events, countering claims of a boycott. In 2013, he joined FC Barcelona’s “peace tour,” visiting the Western Wall and meeting Israeli and Palestinian officials, a neutral act with no political endorsement.
On August 6, 2014, during the height of the Israel-Gaza War, Lionel Messi, then a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and FC Barcelona star, posted a statement on his official Facebook page addressing the violence.
The exact wording, as verified by Reuters and other fact-checking sources, was:“As a father and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, I am terribly saddened by the images coming from the conflict between Israel and Palestine where violence has already claimed so many young lives and injured countless people. Children did not create this conflict, but they are paying the ultimate price. This cycle of senseless violence must stop. I urge all parties to do everything possible to avoid further casualties and allow the people, particularly the youngest, to live in peace.”
This statement drew criticism from some Israeli media and commentators who found it lacking context. Outlets like The Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom called it “vague” and “disappointing” for not mentioning Hamas’s 4,000 rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. On Twitter, Israeli users voiced frustration, with some, as cited in Ynet and Haaretz, calling the statement “one-sided” for ignoring Hamas’s tactics like using civilian areas, with a tweet lamenting, “Messi cries for Gaza’s kids but not for ours hiding from Hamas rockets.” Right-wing Arutz Sheva commentators saw it as part of a celebrity trend “piling on” Israel, speculating Messi’s UNICEF role made him vulnerable to anti-Israel lobbying, though without evidence. Despite Messi’s popularity in Israel, boosted by his 2013 FC Barcelona “peace tour” visit, fans expressed mixed feelings on platforms like X, with some disappointed he didn’t explicitly condemn Hamas.
In 2018, Argentina canceled a friendly match against Israel in Jerusalem after protests and reported threats, including from Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub, who urged fans to burn Messi jerseys if he played. The BDS movement and Palestinian activists, including footballer Mohammad Khalil, who was shot by Israeli forces during a Gaza protest, pressured Argentina to cancel, arguing the match would whitewash Israel’s actions. Argentina’s decision was attributed to player safety, with striker Gonzalo Higuaín stating, “Not going was the right thing to do”. Some sources suggest Messi and teammate Javier Mascherano influenced the cancellation. Messi’s UNICEF ambassadorship since 2010 was cited in protests, but he made no public statement linking his role to the decision.
In 2019, he played a friendly against Uruguay in Tel Aviv despite prior protests and Gaza violence, arriving after a match in Saudi Arabia.
Altered images from 2023 falsely showed Messi holding Israeli or Palestinian flags, debunked by Reuters and AFP as manipulations from sports memorabilia ads.
Messi also has a well-documented history of avoiding political statements, including on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As noted in a 2023 Reddit thread on r/football, fans appreciate that Messi does not publicly comment on issues like Israel, Palestine, or other global conflicts, focusing instead on football and family.
A notable story involves Esther Cunio, a 90-year-old Argentine-Israeli who survived a Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, by mentioning Messi to a terrorist, who then posed for a viral photo with her. Cunio, whose grandsons remain hostages, called on Messi to advocate for their release, but there’s no confirmation Messi responded.