Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi mirrored on the membership’s difficult relationship with former participant Lionel Messi in an interview on Tuesday, admitting that he felt that the participant disrespected the membership after he left.
Al-Khelaifi was requested to handle feedback that Messi made in September, when he stated he wished the membership would have honored him after he received the 2022 World Cup with Argentina. The PSG president stated he didn’t approve of the participant’s public feedback within the months after his departure.
“He is not a nasty man, however I do not prefer it,” Al-Khelaifi stated, per ESPN. “I will say, not only for him however for everybody, we speak once we’re there, not once we’re gone. That is not our type. … I’ve nice respect for him but when somebody needs to talk badly about Paris Saint-Germain afterwards, that is not good. That is not respect.”
The president then defined why the membership didn’t pay him tribute after the victory in Qatar. Messi scored twice within the 2022 World Cup ultimate, during which Argentina beat France on penalties after a 3-3 draw, and Al-Khelaifi claims the Parisian crowd wouldn’t have been receptive to such a celebration.
“If anybody talks about the truth that we did not have a good time him sufficient after he received the World Cup, we’re in France and he received towards Kylian [Mbappé],” he stated. “We’re a French membership. I do not need the entire stadium to be towards him both.”
Al-Khelaifi additionally in the end admitted that Messi’s time within the French capital was a troublesome one for the participant, particularly contemplating the circumstances during which he moved. The participant’s wage invoice and Barcelona’s worsening monetary state of affairs meant he was pressured to depart in 2021, and the PSG president feels the contrasts between the 2 golf equipment was stark for Messi.
“I will say one factor about Messi, one of the best participant on the earth and one of the best participant in historical past,” he stated. “It was not simple for him to come back right here… After Barcelona. There [in Barcelona], every part was for Messi: the gamers, the coaches, and the administration. He comes right here and it isn’t the identical factor, we additionally produce other gamers, we now have Kylian and in addition Neymar.”
Al-Khelaifi’s feedback got here in a wide-ranging interview that predominantly addressed the continuing hypothesis round Mbappe’s future. The France star’s contract with PSG expires in June and Actual Madrid and Liverpool are reportedly amongst these chasing his signature, however the PSG president insisted that they wish to preserve Mbappe round.
Messi spent two seasons with PSG and received Ligue 1 on each events, however the transfer at all times felt like a nasty match and so the participant left when his contract expired final June. He subsequently moved to MLS’ Inter Miami.
