Irish fans use Lionel Messi jersey to mock Kylian Mbappe and France during 2-0 defeat at Parc des Princes
Ireland fans took a cheeky dig at Kylian Mbappe during their recent 2-0 loss to France. The fans held up Lionel Messi's #10 Argentina jersey to troll the French supporters at Parc des Princes.
France hosted Ireland in a 2024 UEFA EURO qualifier encounter and secured an easy 2-0 win. Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram scored for the 2022 FIFA World Cup runners-up to leave the Ireland in a must-win situation in their upcoming match against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Despite the loss, some Irish fans had a laugh in as they tried to troll Kylian Mbappe and France with Lionel Messi kits.
France came back thrice in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final against Argentina, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick. However, they lost the penalty shootout 4-2, with Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman missing their chances.
Kylian Mbappe hits out at PSG fans for disrespecting Lionel Messi
Kylian Mbappe hit out at PSG fans for their treatment of Lionel messi during the Argentine's two seasons at the club. He believes that the boos and jeers directed towards the current Inter Miami star were unwarranted.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Mbappe said:
"We're talking about potentially the best player in the history of football. It's never good news when someone like Messi leaves. Personally I haven't really understood why so many people were relieved that he was leaving. We're talking about Messi, he should be respected -- but instead, he didn't get the respect he deserved in France. It's a shame, but that's how it went. He'll have to be replaced as best as possible."
However, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi did take an indirect dig at Messi and Neymar, who left this summer, saying the team's more united than ever. He said:
"Kylian Mbappe is an incredible player and a fantastic person. And the Paris Saint-Germain team, on and off the pitch, has never been so united, which I think was possible to see last weekend, during the game against Lyon. This year, in the new Paris Saint-Germain cycle, we are focusing less on results and more on performance and our style of play. If we do that, the results will appear accordingly. We have a fantastic coach and sporting director and I'm very happy with the spirit found at PSG."
Neymar was sold to Al Hilal this summer, while Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami after running down his contract. Mbappe reportedly came close to leaving for Real Madrid, but stayed on for another season.