"Sad to watch" - Fans urge Lionel Messi to 'retire for his own reputation' after being booed by PSG fans
Football fans online inevitably reacted after Lionel Messi and Neymar were booed by PSG fans ahead of their Ligue 1 game against FC Bordeaux.
The Parisian giants haven’t had the best of the weeks. They were recently knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid following a 3-1 defeat in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
They exited the Champions League despite having a 1-0 lead in the tie after the first leg.
Both Messi and Neymar had a relatively quiet game in Spain which did not go down well with the Parisian faithful. When the pair came out of the tunnel for the game against Bordeaux, PSG fans jeered their superstar players. The booing continued right until half-time.
It is also worth mentioning that this comes only a day after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for Manchester United against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
A portion of football fans on Twitter were baffled to see one of the greatest players of all time being jeered by his own fans. Some even suggested the 34-year-old forward should retire to maintain his dignity.
Here are some of the tweets in that regard:
Messi should 100% retire for his own reputation. No one wants to remember this version of the guy, it's actually sad to watch ffs
Who'd have thought there'd be a day Messi would be booed by his own fans 😭
This is crazy. Both Neymar and Messi line up for the FK for PSG and boos ring around the stadium — they’re playing at home. There’s an audible cheer by some when Neymar’s FK goes over.
Lionel Messi and Neymar hearing the boos and whistles at the Parc des Princes whenever they touch the ball https://t.co/BFNOdLZZoP
Messi is literally bigger than PSG and their fans have the audacity to boo him. 😂
I would rather see Messi retire than to keep seeing him playing at PSG 1 more year
Messi finally moved to a different team and system after 17 years and it's taken 8 months to be boo'd by PSG fans 😭😭😭
Lionel Messi left Barcelona to join PSG on a free transfer in the summer of 2021. The 34-year-old forward has since found it tough to settle into his new surroundings in Paris.
As things stand, Messi has contributed seven goals and ten assists for Paris Saint-Germain in 25 appearances across all competitions. However, only two of those goals have come in Ligue 1.
The season has been poor despite Mauricio Pochettino's side comfortably leading the Ligue 1 charts. They have been knocked out of both the Champions League as well as the Coupe de France this season.
PSG exited the French Cup after losing to OGC Nice in a penalty shootout last month.
What’s next for Lionel Messi at PSG?
Despite having a poor first season in France, Lionel Messi is expected to stay with PSG for the 2022-23 season. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner had signed a two-year deal with the club with an option to extend it further by another year.
It is highly unlikely that Messi will leave the Ligue 1 giants after just one season.
BREAKING: Lionel Messi and Neymar booed by PSG fans in first clash since Champions League collapse
mirror.co.uk/sport/football… https://t.co/EC2JQrLP7V
However, the same cannot be said about Neymar. According to reports, PSG are looking to offload the Brazilian forward in the upcoming transfer window. This is despite the fact that Neymar has a contract at the club until the summer of 2025.
It is also worth mentioning that Kylian Mbappe will most likely leave the Parisian outfit at the end of the current season. The Frenchman currently has less than six months remaining on his contract.