"Don’t know if he has mourned his departure from Barcelona" - Former PSG goalkeeper Jérôme Alonzo questions Lionel Messi's leadership qualities

Former PSG goalkeeper criticizes Lionel Messi for his lack of leadership skills

Former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) goalkeeper Jerome Alonzo has criticized Lionel Messi for showing no leadership qualities on the pitch. Alonzo said he hasn't seen any emotion from the Argentina international since his arrival at the French club from Barcelona last summer.

Leo Messi malheureux au PSG ?

"Est-ce qu'il a fait son deuil de son départ de Barcelone ?" ➡️ Jérôme Alonzo s'interroge sur l'intégration de l'Argentin à Paris 🇫🇷❌

#EDG https://t.co/mVCSAufEN9

Alonzo has pinned the blame on Messi as Paris Saint-Germain crashed out of the Coupe de France after suffering a defeat against Nice. The game remained goalless for the entirety of regulation time and went into penalties. PSG lost the game 5-6.

Xavi Simons and Leandro Paredes missed penalties for the club, leading to their expulsion from another silverware title race.

Nice have knocked PSG out of the Coupe de France on penalties 😳 https://t.co/e9SLp4lWiL

Speaking over Messi's impact on the pitch and the absence of his leadership qualities, Alonzo said:

“For me, Messi has to be a leader by example, by behavior, and by play. And what I’ve seen from Messi for some time, I don’t see a leader who takes charge, who can tip a match, which has an attitude. I just have a player problem.''

He added:

“I don’t know if this player is concerned, involved. I’m sorry, but I don’t know if he has mourned his departure from Barcelona. I don’t want to clear Messi of everything, even if against Nice there was a big desert around him.”

Messi has had a quiet outing in Paris so far this season, while the club expects the former Barcelona legend to lead them to Champions League glory. He has scored just once in Ligue 1 this season, while scoring five in the Champions league.

PSG will hope their star man starts performing at the top of his level soon. They face Real Madrid in the Round of 16 of the Champions League this month.

Mauricio Pochettino could leave PSG at the end of the ongoing season: Report

Mauricio Pochettino is expected to leave the Parisienne club in the summer transfer window later this year as per reports from certain Paris-based news outlets. According to Le Parisien, Pochettino is longer being considered for the long-term manager role prospect at the Paris-based club.

🚨🚨 PSG management have informed Mauricio Pochettino that his time at the club will end at the end of the season.

(Source: @hadrien_grenier) https://t.co/ccSplxcQAV

Pochettino is also being linked with a possible full-time manager role at Manchester United next season. Ralf Rangnick's six-month role as interim manager will also end at the end of the ongoing Premier League season.