Even though it seemed that they made a great job in the summer transfer market a few months back, Paris Saint-Germain have once again suffered a UEFA Champions League elimination in disappointing fashion. This time, not even Lionel Messi could help PSG in their quest for a highly desired continental success.
Mauricio Pochettino‘s men were shocked by Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu as they blew a 2-0 lead on aggregate. The visitors were comfortably in control in Spain but a huge mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma proved costly as Karim Benzema led a memorable comeback from there.
Paris may still be atop the Ligue 1 standings but it would be safe to say that the domestic title will be kind of meaningless for them at this point. The stellar signings were supposed to lift the team to European glory, which is one of the reasons why Messi receives harsh criticism from the French media.
French media harsh on Lionel Messi again after PSG’s Champions League exit
The arrival of Messi in Paris was incredibly noisy. All of a sudden, heleft Barcelona after more than two decades and would play for another club for the first time in his career. The expectations were high, countless jerseys were sold, and the French capital welcomed him with open arms.
However, the Argentine has struggled to live up to the expectations around him. First of all, it took him some time to makehis first appearance in a PSG uniform given that he came from a demanding campaign that included a 2021 Copa America participation in the offseason. Once he stepped into the field, Messi didn’t make an immediate impact asmany expected. On top of that, he spent time on international duty,where he sustained an injury that would later rule him out from some games.
And the local press has never gave him a break. Many outlets have found differentways to slam Messi, whether it was about his performances or his commitment with PSG. So, for those who have seen how he was treated before, it may not be a surprise to see that he’s been blasted again following PSG’s defeat to Real Madrid.
L’Equipe headlines its digital article about the match with a picture of Lionel Messi that reads “Irrationnel”, which means ‘Irrational’ in French but it’s a subtle shot to the Argentine superstar.
Not long ago, the popular newspaper sparked controversy for rating Messi’s performance in the first leg with a 3. In that sense, they weren’t that harsh this time as he had a 6. But the “Irrationnel” headline plus apicture of Karim Benzema that reads “Le Messie” (the messiah in English, which is another subtle jab at Messi), shows that Messi was slammed anyway. Meanwhile, Le Parisien rated Messi’s performance at the Bernabeua low 4. “It is still not the best version from a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner,” the review reads.
To be fair, Messi has not performed asexpected since he became a PSG player. Leo hasonly scored 7 goals in 25 appearances, although most of them came in the Champions League (5), while his goalscoring production was very low in the Ligue 1 (two goals in 17games) but he provided several assists (11).
It can’t be denied that world soccer expected him to have a bigger impact in his new club. But this time, blaming Messi for the UCL crash is not fair. He was playing fine and PSG were in control until a terrible mistake at the back put their backs against the wall, Messi can’t take the blame for that one. But then again, the expectations around him will always demand more. It’s just thathe is overly criticized on many occasions and this seems to be one of them.