Former French forward Jerome Rothen has called for Paris Saint-Germain supporters to start whistling and booing Marco Verratti.
PSG will return to the Parc des Princes on Sunday against Rennes for what will be its first home fixture since its UEFA Champions League round of 16 exit against Bayern Munich. Last year, many PSG supporters rained boos and whistles during multiple home fixtures following the club’s Champions League elimination against Real Madrid. There has been some outside speculation that thousands of PSG supporters may end up doing the same on Sunday.
PSG manager Christophe Galtier said on Friday that there is “no reason” to whistle the players. Rothen thinks otherwise, as he wants PSG supporters to unleash their frustrations toward Verratti.
“Marco Verratti, he’s been here for 10 years,” Rothen said on his “Rothen s’enflamme” program. “He is not serious enough, there is no professional conscience. There is disappointment.
“You have to whistle him and others too.”
Verratti had a performance to forget in PSG’s 2-0 away loss to Bayern Munich earlier this month. For one, he gifted Bayern Munich its opening goal of the match, losing possession deep in PSG’s defensive third. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting put the finishing touches on the goal sequence to provide the Bundesliga powerhouse with a 2-0 lead in the tie.
It will be noteworthy to see whether Verratti ends up hearing boos and whistles on Sunday.
