'Disappears completely!' - Messi slammed for PSG disrespect

Robin Bairner

• 9 Mar 2023 14:54 GMT
• 3 min read

PSG attacker Lionel Messi has been told to show more “respect” to the Ligue 1 club after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

After losing the first leg 1-0, PSG harboured hopes of a turnaround yet struggled to make an impression at the Allianz Arena as they suffered a 2-0 defeat, with Messi’s influence on the match limited.

Following the game, numerous PSG players have been lampooned by the national media, and the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was among those to be criticised.

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PSG legend Jerome Rothen is known for not holding back in such situations and was forthright in his opinion with regards the Argentina star.

“Messi, we don't want him. He does not want to invest in this club,” he told RMC.

“I saw his statement where he said: 'I'm well 'acclimatised' but what are you acclimatized to my dear? Because you scored 18 goals or 16 assists this year against Angers and Clermont? But in the matches that count, he disappears completely!

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“It's a joke is that we saw his matches at the World Cup, I saw his movements, how he invested himself. I don't mind it the national team jersey being a separate thing, but hey, respect the club in the capital a little. It’s PSG that allows you to keep a profile and a salary.

“Only PSG could give him that and, of course, PSG jumped in with both feet because they thought Messi was going to make us win. But he has won us nothing at all.”

Messi’s future, meanwhile, is in the air as his contract expires at the end of the season, yet he is unlikely to welcome such criticism after a career of excellent.

Verratti told to got back to Pescara

Messi was not the only PSG star to be attacked, though. Marco Verratti’s display was also heavily criticised by prominent journalist Daniel Riolo, who branded PSG the “Europe’s shame”.

He told RMC: “Send Verratti back to Pescara so he can eat his little kebabs and go for a walk by the sea and smoke his cigarettes in peace.

“I don't even know if he's a starter on my son's team! It is infuriating what I see him, little Warren Zaïre-Emery, at 17, is surpassing him and stepping over him.”