Lionel Messi blames 2022 FIFA World Cup win for bitter relationship with PSG fans, says it happened with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar as well
The player did not have a good rapport with the PSG fans.
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Lionel Messi spent two years at PSG (Credits: Goal.com)
Lionel Messi thinks that his World Cup Final win over France in 2022 may have been the reason for his rift with the Paris Saint-Germain fans. He did not enjoy a good spell in his two-year spell at PSG as the fans booed and jeered him every game. However, since Argentina’s victory over the defending champions in Qatar, Messi faced a lot of adversities targeted towards him by the Parisians.
The player helped Argentina beat France on penalties in the World Cup final with the final score of 3-3 after extra time. He scored two of the three goals for his team. On the other hand, his then-club teammate Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick for France. The match ended in Argentina’s favor winning 4-2 on penalties. This helped Lionel Messi lift his first-ever World Cup, the only trophy missing from his cabinet.
However, this may have tainted his relationship with the PSG fans. In an interview he said, “After winning the World Cup against France, I think there was a big rupture with a large part of the PSG fans, obviously not my intention, but it happened as it happened before with Mbappe and Neymar.“
He said he had initially enjoyed his time at the club after leaving FC Barcelona as a free agent. “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.
Lionel Messi’s similarities with Diego Maradona
Lionel Messi was always considered Argentina’s successor to Diego Maradona. After his death in November 2020, the only task Messi had was to recreate what was Maradona’s greatest achievement. It was to lead his national team to World Cup glory. In 2022, two years after Maradona’s death, Messi succeeded in winning the world cup. He put on a stunning performance contributing 7 goals and 3 assists to his team. This was ultimately a deciding factor in their victory.
Lionel Messi’s breakdown of his relationship with PSG fans post-World Cup is also similar to Diego Maradona’s breakdown in his relationship with the Napoli fans. The player joined the club in 1984. He was treated like a God after leading the club to two Serie A titles. They had not won a single one before that. However, this relationship broke down after Diego Maradona scored the deciding penalty in the semi-finals against the home country Italy in the 1990 Fifa World Cup. He was also accused of trying to cause a revolt by telling them to support Argentina instead of Italy.
His drug-related problems also became public. This led to the player leaving the club as a disgraceful figure. The Italian club later forgave Maradona and many dedicated their recent Serie A title to him.
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Arpan Ghosh
(1403 Articles Published)