Over the last few days, there have been some reports about Lionel Messi perhaps remaining at Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi reportedly prioritizes staying in the French capital and information over Kylian Mbappe possibly playing a role in the Argentine extending his contract with PSG. However, former PSG forward Jérôme Rothen wants nothing to do with Messi remaining.
Rothen cited that the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner hasn’t shown up in matches that matter on PSG’s schedule as he belittled the Argentine’s stats, saying they’ve come against inferior teams.
“It’s completely out of place,” Rothen said on RMC Sport (h/t Canal Supporters). “That’s how much he doesn’t give a damn about the world since he arrived. He only came for the financial conditions. In Barcelona, we know very well why he left. They could no longer pay him the way they paid him. There was such a huge deficit that they had to part with it. It’s a disappointment again. I don’t care if he has 15 or 20 assists.
“If you make your assists in matches that count less than the big matches, where you were expected, it’s not the same thing. When the level rises [in the] Champions League, nothing. In the group stage, when it was tough against Benfica and PSG didn’t win a game, we didn’t see a great Leo Messi. Against Juve, and it wasn’t the great Juve, it wasn’t the great Leo Messi. The match that matters, against Bayern Munich, we did not see a great Leo Messi.”
FC Barcelona is attempting to reunite with their former star player and even coming up with creative (or drastic) ideas to help fund their pursuit of Messi and ensure he returns to Camp Nou this summer.
It appears that the seven-time Ballon d’Or will decide between remaining at PSG, if both sides can agree on a deal, and Barcelona. However, a decision must come soon as both clubs begin their summer transfer window preparations.
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