Paris Saint Germain supporters have been warned that they “will regret” criticizing Lionel Messi by former Argentina and Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano.
It seems certain that Lionel Messi and PSG will part ways this summer, with a host of clubs interested in him. The Argentine had joined in 2021 from longtime club Barcelona but failed to meet expectations. Even though he scored 31 goals and 34 assists in two seasons, he failed to win the Champions League and provide anything different.
The PSG fans are upset, booing the player several times on the pitch, and even insulting him in front of the PSG club headquarters.
What did Javier Mascherano say?
A lot of people, including former players and teammates have come out in defense of the Argentine captain.
Javier Mascherano, who played with Messi for both Argentina and Barcelona, spoke to Ole about the situation. The Argentine played for both Barcelona and Liverpool and is currently the head coach of the Argentina U20 team.
🚨 Javier Mascherano: “In ten years, PSG & its fans will regret what they have done. Any team in the world will give everything to have Messi for five minutes. Leo's professionalism cannot be criticized. It is difficult to see someone with this professionalism, despite being the… pic.twitter.com/2MbXmeTilC
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) May 4, 2023
He said, “It’s a pity for not realizing they were lucky to have him on their team. I think that 10 years ago, no Paris fan imagined that they could possibly have the best player in history on their team. And instead of enjoying it, they spent these two years criticizing him.”
He also further added, “In 10 years they will regret it. Any team in the world would give anything to have him for five minutes. Neither party deserved this ending. If there is something that cannot be criticized, it’s his professionalism. It’s hard to find someone with his professionalism even though he’s possibly the best player in history.”
Why was Lionel Messi suspended by PSG?
Messi is an ambassador for the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA). To honor his duties under his STA contract, the Argentine had gone to Saudi for a promotional advertisement. But the club said that he missed a training session that was not in the normal schedule but was put as an extra session after PSG’s humiliating 3-1 loss against Lorient. The Parisiens fined and suspended Messi for two weeks’ salaries and suspended him for the same amount of time.
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The disciplinary suspension makes it much more unlikely that Messi will continue in Paris. Once his two-year contract ends at the conclusion of this season, he can leave for free. Fabrizio Romano even confirmed that Messi has now already decided to leave PSG at the end of the season. He has already rejected their previous contract renewal offers. But the humble player did issue an apology video, admitting his mistake.
