Elliott will be rooting against Messi in World Cup final despite calling him GOAT - here's why

Despite believing that Lionel Messi is the greatest of all time, Harvey Elliott has revealed that he will be supporting France in the 2022 World Cup final on Sunday. The reason for it is very simple, the midfielder wants his Liverpool teammate Ibrahima Konate to become a world champion.

"With Ibrahima [Konate] in the team and at the start of the tournament, I just wanted all the Liverpool lads to do well," Elliott has told Sky Sports. (h/t Liverpool Echo)

"As he is the one left I am now rooting for France in all fairness and I just want him to do well, which is the most important thing. I watched a fair bit of it before it got a bit too late (France v Morocco).

"It's nothing new to what I know as he is an unbelievable player as well as an unbelievable guy. I was just really happy for him.

"I have been a massive Messi fan ever since I have grown up as a kid and I feel like he is the best player in the world at the moment as what he has been doing over the years.

''What he's been doing at the World Cup on the biggest stage of the world, to be able to do that at such an age it just justifies for myself why he is the GOAT and for me watching him at the World Cup has been a privilege.''

Konate had a great match against Morocco in the semi-finals but was benched in the two knockout games before that. Now it remains to be seen whether Didier Deschamps will trust him with a starting spot in the final too.

If so, the 23-year-old centre-back will have the challenging task of stopping Messi, something all Liverpool fans should be looking forward to.

Source: Liverpool Echo