It has been nearly six months since Lionel Messi parted ways with Paris Saint Germain to begin the third chapter of his club career with Inter Miami of the Major League Soccer (MLS). Though the Argentine captain did not mention any particular reason for the exit, he once said that the Ligue 1 club did not honour him following the FIFA World Cup triumph in December 2022. It certainly irked Messi as the other Argentine footballers got enough recognition from their respective clubs after returning from Qatar.
Now in a shocking revelation, PSG chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi has lashed out at Messi for not showing respect to the club during his stay in Paris. During a recent interaction with RMC Sport, Al-Khelaifi dug out the Argentine’s previous claims, which certainly did not go down well with him.
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“He (Messi) is not a bad guy but I don’t like it. I’ll say, not just for him but for everyone, we talk when we’re there, not when we’re gone. That’s not our style. I have great respect for him (Messi). But if someone wants to speak badly about Paris Saint-Germain afterwards, that’s not good, that’s not respect,” the PSG chief explained, as quoted by ESPN.
Messi became the hero for his country after the talismanic forward led Argentina to World Cup glory after a long hiatus of 28 years. He finished the Qatar campaign as the best player. Only his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe was ahead of him on the list of the top scorers. While Messi scored 7 goals in as many appearances, the French international recorded one more. In the final, Messi’s Argentina dethroned reigning champions France to claim the title.
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According to Al-Khelaifi, the PSG hierarchy could not celebrate enough as Messi became the World Cup champion by beating France in the summit clash. If they would organise a glittery ceremony at the stadium, it might annoy the home fans. “If anyone talks about the fact that we didn’t celebrate him enough after he won the World Cup, we’re in France and he won against Kylian. We are a French club. I don’t want the whole stadium to be against him either,” Al-Khelaifi said further.
After Messi’s claims came to light in September last year, the PSG chairman said in an interview with RMC Sport, “As everyone saw, because we even published a video, we celebrated Messi in training, and we also celebrated him in private.” Messi did receive a special guard of honour from his PSG teammates after rejoining the club following a 10-day break. But he might have expected something more from the club officials.
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