Lionel Messi’s “nickname” for Wout ‘Bobo’ Weghorst lives on at Manchester United

“Qué miras bobo, anda p’allá, bobo”, which translates to “What are you looking at, you fool, go over there, you fool (’idiot’ or ‘clown’ might be alternative options for ‘bobo’)” became the most famous phrase of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Lionel Messi was, of course, the man who coined it and directed it at Dutch striker Wout Weghorst in the tunnel after the heated quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands, which La Albiceleste won on penalties on the way to winning the tournament.

Lisandro Martínez and his Manchester United teammate ‘Bobo’ Weghorst

Now it seems as if Weghorst has been unable to shake off that tag at Manchester United, who he joined on loan from Burnley in the January transfer window following a similar spell at Besiktas. The striker now shares a dressing room with Messi’s Argentina teammate Lisandro Martínez, who, according to Sport, refers to him as ‘Bobo’. Luckily, Weghorst appears to have taken his new nickname in good humour.

The Dutchman was a substitute in the Argentina vs Netherlands match-up and scored twice for his country in the second half to force extra-time after they had been 2-0 down. There were a number of flare-ups between players on both sides throughout the 120 minutes and at the end of the game, when Weghorst was supposedly waiting to ask Messi to swap shirts, the PSG star, who was about to be interviewed by Argentinian broadcaster TyC, uttered the now famous phrase.

Why did Messi call Weghorst a ‘fool’?

“I always give my all and I did the same in the quarter-finals. I fought against Messi and there were some moments of tension between us. I don’t think he liked it and it surprised him. But I have a lot of respect for him. He’s among the greatest of all time,” Weghorst told Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf.