Recently, the French press reported that a group of PSG fans planned to boo and protest against Messi in the match against Rennes at the Park of the Princes on March 19. Their ultimate goal is to prevent the club leadership from extending the contract with the World Cup champion – who only has a contract until the end of the 2022/23 season. The plan of the above fan group is likely to fail, because in the last training session of PSG, Messi was not present. The reason behind is not revealed, but the instability can be felt surrounding the future of the Argentine superstar.
In fact, since last season, Messi has been booed and criticized by PSG fans. That was when PSG was furiously eliminated by Real Madrid from the 1/8 round of the Champions League. Before that time, PSG fans were still in shock because their favorite team owned the destruction trio of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Messi. Everyone has a strong belief that with such a mighty attack, PSG will beat Real Madrid to advance in the Champions League. But then, it all fell apart. When the dream is broken, all returns to the harsh truth. Anger began to rise, and people like Messi had to take the lead.
PSG fans feel that the direction the team is taking focuses on promoting the image and marketing more than the performances on the field. They argue that PSG is more interested in selling jerseys or recruiting “well-paid” players than winning big games, or building a strong and balanced squad. After 1 year, the situation has not changed. The old government reorganized, and PSG – with the “trident” Neymar, Mbappe, Messi – once again had to stop in the 1/8 round of the Champions League. This time, the rich man of Paris fell before Bayern Munich. It is worth mentioning that in both matches against Bayern, Messi played lazily, with almost no contribution to the club.
How can PSG fans endure this? Messi is one of the highest-paid players in Paris, but his performances in the Champions League have not lived up to expectations. The attitude of the former Barcelona striker is also questioned. Since winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, Messi seems to be no longer too salty despite still scoring fairly regularly for PSG in Ligue 1. Obviously, PSG’s spending money to recruit Messi is aimed at quenched his thirst for trophies in the Champions League, but after two seasons, it was all a disappointment.
Of course, it is impossible to blame all the blame on Messi for PSG’s failure in the continental arena, because the collapse came from a whole system instead of just one or two specific individuals. However, Messi – with the label of the best player in the world – should have done more than that. With this situation of PSG, should they continue to keep Messi or let him leave on a free form? It will be a gamble if the rich man in Paris continues to spend money to keep Messi, because there is no guarantee that PSG can achieve success in the Champions League next season. With the current “elephant-tailed” squad, it is difficult for PSG to do anything special.
PSG chose Messi for the Champions League dream, and in the opposite direction, the Argentine superstar also bet on the Paris capital team, in the hope that the club can help him own the 5th elephant ear trophy in his career. The deal has failed miserably, so maybe it’s time for both sides to go their separate ways.
Coach Galtier defends Messi
Before the dissatisfaction of PSG fans, coach Christophe Galtier said: “What’s the reason? There is no reason to boo our players. They have given their best in this tournament. “With Leo, he’s got 18 goals and 17 assists. We’re out because Bayern Munich are in much better form than us.”
