Departing the Parisians with a fair amount of accolades but a bitter aftertaste, Lionel Messi has officially parted ways with his only European club outside of Barcelona. European clubs continue to eye the situation as Leo is certain to make his next move soon.
Despite enjoying an illustrious two years with his Argentine compatriots as the 7-time Ballon d’Or winner won the Finalissima and was crowned World Champion, Leo had his struggles recreating those joyous moments with PSG.
As he prepares for his last game with the French club, Diario AS reports that fans have not appreciated his presence with jeers and boos targeted specifically towards him.
Following an adaptation phase, Messi put up excellent numbers for PSG this season. In Ligue 1, he racked up an impressive 16 goals and 16 assists in 31 games. Topping that off, he reached 100 successful dribbles along with a whopping 88 chances created.
Based on those stats, it has been an applaudable season for the little magician, yet he finds himself leaving with a poor reception. In spite of his highly satisfactory displays, this response from the fans appears to stem from a few factors that arguably do not involve sporting reasons.
At PSG, the Champions League is the most sought-after title and thus going out to Bayern proved to devalue Messi’s work prior to that defeat. Moreover, the South American’s relationship with the Parisians reached boiling point when he was called into question for missing a training session for his sponsorship duties.
Messi later apologized and explained the situation, but making amends to an already strained relationship proved to be an uphill task with little to play for in the league. Following frequent trips to Barcelona and the fact that he has called it quits in PSG has simply turned the fanbase against him.
Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal proposed a mega offer to Leo before the season ended and Barcelona were seemingly interested in acquiring the Argentine’s services, which also negated Messi’s image in front of the fans, who would be right to believe he has his motives set elsewhere for the future.
