‘Happened with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar too…’: Frustrated Lionel Messi recalls love-hate relationship with PSG fans

Considered by many to be the greatest-ever player in football history, Lionel Messi had an unceremonious end to this time in Paris as PSG fans jeered him in his final fixture for the side. Messi, who departed as a free agent, was jeered by PSG fans ahead and during their last Ligue 1 match vs Clermont Foot 63, at the Parc des Princes.

Since leaving PSG, Messi was linked to former club FC Barcelona and Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal. It looked like he was set to return to Catalonia, but a move didn’t materialise due to the club’s chaotic financial condition. The Argentine ended up signing for MLS side Inter Miami.

Messi joined PSG in the 2021 summer transfer window, leaving Barcelona in stunning fashion. He was welcomed in Paris with much pomp and fanfare, but soon it all vanished as he found it hard to settle and scored only six Ligue 1 goals in his debut season. In his second and final campaign with PSG, he scored 16 goals in 32 matches, bagging 16 assists too. Meanwhile, he scored four times in the Champions League and one in the Trophee des Champions.

Initially, it was considered to be a good move due to the presence of Neymar in the PSG squad. Neymar is considered to be a close friend of Messi’s, which blossomed during the Brazilian’s Barcelona days. Opening up on his rift with PSG fans, Messi also pointed out that they treated Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in similar fashion.

“At first it was great, I received a lot of encouragement as I’ve often said, but then people started to treat me differently, some of the Paris fans. The majority, on the other hand, treated me as well as they did at the start”, he said, while speaking to RMC Sport.

“There was a rift with a large section of the Paris crowd. Of course it wasn’t my intention. But these are things that have already happened with Mbappé and Neymar too, it’s their way of doing things. But I still remember all those people who supported me, as they did at the start.

“I don’t know, I had to spend four years in Paris and I enjoyed it a lot. We played important things, we were very close to winning the Champions League, but afterward, I can’t explain why the treatment and reaction towards us,” he further added.

After Messi’s departure, Neymar is also being linked to a host of clubs as the club’s hierarchy have become unhappy with him. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe is expected to join Real Madrid either this year or next year. The Frenchman’s contract expires after the 2023-24 campaign, and he won’t be triggering a one-year extension, which could see him leave as a free agent.