Barcelona turn against Messi in World Cup final campaign

France will be defending their World Cup title against Argentina on Sunday, and FC Barcelona were quick to congratulate two of their players in the French squad. However, many are pointing out that club legend Lionel Messi happens to be leading Argentina in his final appearance in a World Cup.

Barcelona were quick to share a post flexing Ousmane Dembele and Jules Kounde as soon as France booked their ticket to the final with a victory over Morocco.

The official FC Barcelona account also retweeted posts from both players.

The Catalan club has a lot to be proud of, especially with their players making it to the final for a fourth successive edition of the global showpiece. A total of 17 Barcelona players were called up by their respective national teams for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and French stars Dembele and Kounde are now the only ones left standing.

The team that won the title for France in Russia 2018 also featured Dembele alongside Samuel Umtiti. For the other side, Ivan Rakitic was the lone Barcelona player for losing finalist Croatia.

This year, There are no Barcelona players in the Argentina squad, but it is hard to overlook that PSG forward Lionel Messi, who spent most of his professional career in Barcelona, happens to be the Argentina captain.

In 2014 the club proudly backed Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano in the final that they lost against Germany. This time, for obvious reasons, Barcelona must fully support the two players that are currently in their roster.

However, they found a way to honour Messi in a more subtle manner by sharing a photo of the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner from his time in Catalunya. Barcelona tweeted a throwback photo of their former captain in a celebratory embrace with Dembele and captioned it: "One of these two will become World Champion on Sunday."

Unfortunately for Dembele and Kounde, many Barcelona fans will likely be supporting Argentina in the final, thanks to the affection they have built for Messi. The Argentine has confirmed that this will be his final World Cup appearance, and many of his fans are hoping that he could cap his international career with the biggest trophy.