Pundit Rips Lionel Messi for Disappearing in Matches that Count at PSG

Lionel Messi hasn’t been immune to criticism from the French media since joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. The capital club’s latest elimination from the UEFA Champions League has RMC Sport pundit Jérôme Rothen going after the 35-year-old. 

The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner didn’t play a factor in PSG’s round of 16 3-0 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich. As a result, Rothen believes that Messi hasn’t respected the French club in his two seasons. 

“Messi, we don’t want him,” Rothen said Thursday on RMC Sport (h/t Paris Fans). “He does not want to invest in this club! I saw his statement where he said, ‘I’m well acclimatized,’ but what are you acclimatized to, my dear? Because you scored 18 goals or 16 assists this year against Angers and Clermont? But in the matches that count, it disappears completely! Where it’s a joke is that we saw his matches at the World Cup, I saw his movements [and] how he invested himself.”

Messi had a challenging first season in Paris, but his second campaign has been much better, resulting in him being fit to help Argentina lift the World Cup in Qatar. However, since the return of club football, it appears as though age is catching up to him.

PSG brought the former FC Barcelona captain to help the French clubs win the Champions League. Nonetheless, it seems as though the signing will be seen as a flop, with Messi and PSG failing to lift the trophy that the Ligue 1 side has desired the most.