About

Lionel Messi FIFA Princess, also known as FIFA's Princess, FIFA's Daughter or simply the Messi FIFA Princess Meme, refers to a series of memes and jokes based on the humorous conspiracy theory that FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, have favoritism of Argentinian football (soccer) star Lionel Messi in World Cup tournaments and events. "FIFA's Princess" is commonly used as a nickname for Messi in such memes, which are largely used to mock him and FIFA by those who believe there is a bias toward him.

FIFA Princess memes initially appeared during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming more prominent during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and often portray Messi in overly girly pink princess dresses and tiaras with Infantino showering him with love and praise. Posts depicting Messi as a princess are commonly intertwined with the related Lionel Messi and Gianni Infantino memes, which portray Messi and the FIFA president as romantically involved.

The jokes about Messi also inspired counter-memes from his fans in which Cristiano Ronaldo and other players were given similar feminine-coded nicknames as part of ongoing rivalry-based arguments between fandoms.

Origin

Around the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the satirical "FIFA Princess" nickname started to be used by rival fans to refer to Lionel Messi in online football discourse to allege, both jokingly and conspiratorially, that FIFA gives Messi preferential treatment in things like refereeing decisions or awards.

The earliest known uses of "FIFA princess," "FIFAs princess" or "FIFA's princess" appeared on X / Twitter in December 2022 toward the end of the World Cup in Qatar, which Argentina ultimately won. However, most of these posts have since been lost and are no longer active.

The earliest known use comes from the Twitter account RonaldoSZN_ on December 9th, 2022, which read, "Blatant handball, no yellow card. If this was Cristiano he’d be sent to prison but FIFA’s princess gets a pass as usual." The post has since been deleted.

Another early example came from the Twitter account Madridista_Total on December 18th, 2022, which stated, "Another penalty for Argentina inside 20 minutes 😂😂😂 They aren't even hiding it anymore. Just hand the trophy to FIFA's princess already." This post has also since been removed.

However, other examples from 2023 using the nickname for Messi are still active, such as a comment from Facebook^[1] user Uthmaan Uti Hendricks on May 13th, 2023, who stated, "Reasons why his fifas princess, cause the allow him to do all this and no cards," in a post about Messi from the 2022 WC.

Another example of the slang nickname from 2023 was posted by Twitter^[2] user jgfloresss on October 30th, who claimed Messi's Ballon d'Or award in 2023 was rigged in his favor. The post did not garner significant engagement.

Spread

The memes about Lionel Messi being the "FIFA Princess" continued to spread online over the following years as people used the nickname to criticize him and FIFA.

For example, on April 3rd, 2025, the TNT Sports México Twitter^[3] account (tntsportsmex) posted an image of fans at an LA Galaxy match holding FIFA princess and Pessi memes in the crowd, writing, "Messi was not well received by the LAFC fans," garnering over 1.4 million views, 23,000 likes and 1,000 replies in a year.

On June 21st, 2025, the Instagram^[4] account tirodirectosi posted an AI action figure meme depicting Messi as the FIFA princess, garnering over 45,800 likes and 1,000 comments in a year.

The nickname saw increased usage during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, particularly on Instagram Reels, Facebook, TikTok and other social media platforms as users discussed penalties, fouls and match outcomes they felt showed bias toward Lionel Messi.

For instance, on June 29th, 2026, Twitter^[5] user ClinchRMCF posted a meme discussing penalties at the 2026 World Cup, including an image of Messi in princess clothing holding hands with Infantino, receiving over 27,100 views, 2,200 likes and 120 replies in two weeks.

On July 4th, 2026, Twitter^[6] user ChristianariasF tweeted an AI-generated video depicting a princess version of Messi speaking with FIFA's president, garnering over 58,500 views, 2,000 likes and 50 replies in six days.

😂🤣 SASKA PRINCESA DE LA FIFA 😂🤡🙁
La “princesa de la FIFA” en vestido rosa, tiara y blush lloriqueando como niñita:
🙁 “No puedo dormir… jugué con Cabo Verde y siento presión… México me va a hacer bulla… Infantino ayúdame, saca rojas porfa” 🙁💅🤡🙁
Mientras los Messi… pic.twitter.com/VaRTXrsplf

— Christian Arias (@ChristianariasF) July 4, 2026

On July 7th, 2026, Instagram^[7] user hossam_reedaa posted an image of Infantino placing a crown on Messi wearing princess garb, receiving over 225,000 likes and 5,200 comments in three days.

On July 8th, 2026, TikTok^[8] user andycr72601 shared an AI video edit depicting Messi as a princess speaking to Infantino, garnering over 886,700 likes and 22,600 comments in two days.

Various Examples

@andycr72601 La Princesa de la FIFA Está molesta con Fifantino por el Partido de Ayer ante Cabo Verde. Este video es Creado con IA y SE ha hecho solo con fines de Entretener. #HumorConIA #Infantino #Pessi #WorldCup #ArgentinaVsCaboVerde ♬ sonido original – AndyCR7 2

@andycr72601 La Princesa de la FIFA se asegura de dejarle todo claro a Fifantino antes del Partido entre Francia Vs Marruecos. #HumorConIA #WorldCup #FranciaVsMarruecos #Pessi #Infantino ♬ sonido original – AndyCR7 2

Search Interest

External References