In his second year in Paris, the veteran improved dramatically, scoring 21 goals and dishing out 20 assists across all competitions. However, while he did his best, he was unable to assist PSG in winning the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

The Argentine superstar had been met with vociferous whistles and jeers at the Parc des Princes ever since he joined, and the atmosphere only became worse since the defeat to Bayern. Also, he was banned from the team for a while due to his unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia. That made the fans even more upset.

What did Leandro Paredes say about Lionel Messi and PSG?

Leandro Paredes was another player that the Argentine interacted with when both were at PSG before the former moved to Juventus on loan for the 2022-23 season. Set to return to the French capital, Paredes has revealed that he is baffled as to why the Parisians had treated both of them so poorly.

“I don’t know, I had to spend four years in Paris and I enjoyed it a lot. We played important things, we were very close to winning the Champions League, but afterward, I can’t explain why the treatment and reaction towards us“, he told TyC Sports.

Besides being on track to win his second Ligue 1 championship with Paris Saint-Germain, he just fulfilled a lifetime dream by leading Argentina to the World Cup victory in Qatar in 2022. It will take place in his trophy case alongside his 2021Copa America championship.

During the previous two decades, the 35-year-old ace has amassed an absurd amount of individual honors. Some of his individual awardsinclude 15 Argentine Footballer of the Year trophies, six European Golden Shoes, and, of course, a record seven Ballons d’Or.

Watch: Who did Lionel Messi giveone of his individual awards to?

Because the superstar has received so many individual accolades throughout the course of his stellar career, he has no qualms about bestowing one onto hisPSG colleague, Leandro Paredes.The midfielder currently on loan at Juventusalso had a role in the tournament that year,helping Argentina lift their first World Cup trophy in 30 years.

The 28-year-oldrecently gave media members a tour of his house and proudly displayed Messi’s La Liga 2020-21 Best Player medal.“He [Messi] arrived in Paris, I asked him if he would give it to me and he gave it to me”, Paredes said.

The28-year-old ace signed a loan contractthat included a conditional obligation to purchase for €25 million.With the likes of Marco Verratti, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, and Renato Sanches crowding the midfield at Le Parc des Princes, he wasno longer needed.

Thus, theArgentine wasintended tofill in a crucial piece ofMassimiliano Allegri‘s midfield. However, after a string of poor performances, he was relegated to the bench. Nowbecause the terms have not been fulfilled, theItalian clubis free to decide whether or not to keep him.

What happened between Leandro Paredes and Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus?

Leandro Paredes and Massimiliano Allegri got into a scuffle during Monday’s open training session for Juventus, which will undoubtedly help the club’s decision-making process.The Bianconeri had around 300 supporters in the grandstand while they practiced at their Continassa facility.

While the players posed for photos and signed signatures, the Italian newspaperLa Gazzetta dello Sport reported that tensions were building between Paredes and Allegri. It has been stated that the World Cup winnerreturned to the locker room in a rage, entering just a few meters behind his coach before unleashing his frustrations.

While on loan at Juventus from Paris Saint-Germain since August, the former Roma player has been vocal about his frustration with the amount of playing time he has received fromAllegri. The manager’spreference for his younger compatriot Enzo Barrenechea in the starting lineups for Juventus midfield has reportedly made him very angry.

Undoubtedly, Lionel Messi was a huge reason why Argentina was able to win the World Cup for the third time in their history. The 35-year-old was held in very high esteem by his La Albiceleste teammates, but none more thanRodrigo De Paul,who has been dubbed Messi’s “bodyguard” due to his close relationship with the superstar forward.

They worked well together, and it proved to be a major factor in Argentina’s third World Cup victory. The Final triumph over Francejust demonstrated the great unity and camaraderie that exists throughout Lionel Scaloni’s squad.

What didLeandro Paredes comment onRodrigo De Paul’s Instagram post?

Rodrigo de Paul took advantage of Valentine’s Day to dedicate a romantic Instragam post to his girlfriend, Argentine singer Tini Stoessel. What the Atletico Madrid midfielder did not expect was that his close friend andnational teamteammate, Leandro Paredes would unexpectedly pop up in the comments section.

“Cupid comes out today… It’s Valentine’s Day… THANK YOU for making it magical, I love you”, De Paul’s post said,along with two photos in which he is seen with the singer and a fun video recorded backstage at one of his girlfriend’s shows.

One of the first to comment on the post was the Juventus loanee, who wrote: “I thought you were going to upload a photo with me today”,followed bya sad face and mending heart emojis. The comment sparked a frenzy on Instagram and got 65,000 likes.

However, the club season is back in full swing and the time to celebrate has passed. Most Argentine players were given a hero’s welcome in their return to club duty, but now they have to perform.

Right now, the press and fans couldn’t care less about how they fared in Qatar only a few weeks ago. If not look at Leandro Paredes, who despite being crucial for his nation, is now facing criticism in Italy.

Juventus star Leandro Paredes facingcriticismin Italy

Things are not going according to plan for Juventus, who continue to struggle after receiving a 15-point deduction. On Sunday, the Old Lady lost to Monza and most of the blame fell on Paredes.

“Where was he when Carlos Augusto found the middle of the park empty for the 2-0? Where was the experience of a world champion? Where was he when…” read the match report by Gazzetta Dello Sport, who also rated Paredes the worst player of the game with a 4.

Apart from the Italian newspaper’s harsh review, Juve fans are also questioning Paredes’ tenure with the team. “When players like Paredes that are perennial transfer targets for their careers they never show up for the shirt and the badge when it matters most,” the user @juve_cle wrote on Twitter.

“Wow, never see coming that Paredes would not be a great signing, as he was so important for PSG, oh wait, he wasn’t. It’s not a surprise. Sporting directors are as bad as the coach,” @PierreRvT tweeted.

More users kept on complaining about Paredes’ performances since moving to Turin. The Argentine star joined Juventus on loan from PSG in the summer, but it hasn’t gone as expected so far.

La Albiceleste made their way to Qatar in great fashion, winning a long-awaited Copa America title apart from finishing the South American qualifiers unbeaten. However, they started their World Cup campaign on the wrong foot.

Therefore, manager Lionel Scaloni made several changes to the lineup for the Mexico game. Among the players who were benched is Leandro Paredes, a decision that took many by surprise.

Why Leandro Paredes is on the bench for Argentina vs. Mexico

Leandro Paredes isn’t starting for Argentina against Mexico because Scaloni chose holding midfielder Guido Rodriguez over him. The Juventus star doesn’t have any injury, so this might be a tactical decision.

Paredes didn’t have a great performance against Saudi Arabia, and the coach knows there’s no margin for error at this point. Will Argentina bounce back?Using this World Cup Predictor, you can see every potential outcome of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Enjoy all the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup matches from the United States through FuboTV. Click here and to take advantage of their 7-day free trial offer.

Though Robert Lewandowski‘s clash against his former team will certainly make big headlines, there will also be many other games with a lot of history. For instance, Group H will see PSG face a number of familiar faces when they take on Juventus, including Adrien Rabiot and Moise Kean. But all eyes will be onAngel Di Maria, who they’ll face for the first time since letting him leave for free.

After seven years in the French capital, the Argentine winger joined the Italian giants this summer. However, that wouldn’t be all. According to reports, Lionel Messi and company could face another familiar facein this fixture.

Report: Leandro Paredes would join Juventusfrom PSG

According to L’Equipe, Leandro Paredes will join Juventus from Paris Saint-Germain onloan with obligation to buy for €15 million. That would make him the second player to leave the Parc des Princes for Turin this season.

With Mauro Icardi also on his way out, Messi would be the only Argentine player left in the PSG squad. Therefore, it will be quite a change for Leo to play his second season in Paris without his friends from the Argentina national team.

To face them in the Champions League group stage will be even stranger, but that’s part of soccer. PSG left a lot to be desired last season, therefore it’s no surprise to see them making significant changes this summer.

Christophe Galtier arrived in Paris with new ideas, and neither Paredes nor Icardi seem to be on his plans. While Icardi already ran from behind last year, Paredes did have room in the starting lineup. But things have changed for the Argentine midfielder asPSG landed Vitinha and Renato Sanches. In a few weeks, Paredes could face Messi and most of his former teammates alongside Di Maria.

His manner used to be criticized by his country’s fans. Argentines wanted Messi to have the same character as Diego Maradona, but you cannot force a person to stop being the way he is. However, over the years, Messi’s attitude on the field has changed.

He started to be a more combative player, he started to fight more for the ball, and he also started to argue more with his opponents. He is no longer that young man who used to put up with the kicking of opponents without saying a word. Now Messi makes his presence felt on the field, not only because of his style of play, but alsoof the way he deals with his rivals, and Leandro Paredes suffered an angry Messi.

Leandro Paredes recalls Lionel Messi’s harsh words

PSG visited Barcelonaat the Camp Nou Stadium for the 2020-2021 UEFA Champions League round of 16. Messi was still playing for the Cules, while Paredes was a PSG player. The French team was beating Barcelona 4-1, and Paredes made a comment to his teammates, but something happened that he would never have wanted to happen. Messi heard him and responded harshly.

Paredes revealed to Caja Negra that he incurredthe seven-time Ballon d’Or winner during the UCL clash, saying: “He got angry, because I had made a comment to my teammates and he heard me, and he got angry. He became really angry. He f*cked me up. It was bad. He wanted to kill me and I wanted to go home”.

But any animosity was quickly put to one side, with Messi apparently forgetting the spat ever happened the next time the pair reported for international duty with Argentina. Paredes added: “Afterwards, I saw him in the national team, and he acted as if nothing had happened. He showed me what he is like as a person. The relationship continued as it was. Now when the conversation comes up, we talk about it and laugh, but he was really angry at the time – he wanted to kill me!”.

PSG are known for having a lot of capital and a huge transfer budget, but the renewal of the 23-year-old’s contract until 2025 may mean that the French team will not spend as much money during this transfer window.

Messi demands changes at PSG ahead of next season, and Mbappe is believed to be involved in a series of decisions alongside the club’s officials, for example, in deciding on the position of the coach and who should be in charge of the PSG squad next season. And it appears that some determinations have already been made.

Players who could leave PSG

According to Le Parisien, Leonardo will step down as PSG’s sporting director, and his successor will be Luis Campos. The former Monacoand Lille sporting director will sign a three-year contract with PSG and will be in charge of designing the team’s squad for next season’s Champions League title challenge.

In addition, as reported by the French newspaper, PSG will also sign Antero Henrique to strengthen the sporting direction. The Brazilian, who is the sporting director of the Qatar Football League, will be in charge of the team’s departures whileCampos will be in charge of new signings.

Apparently, Henrique already has in mind which players will be the first ones to leave the club. Sergio Rico, Layvin Kurzawa, ThiloKehrer, Abdou Diallo, Leandro Paredes, Ander Herrera, Danilo, Idrissa Gana Gueye, JulianDraxler, and Mauro Icardi are the main candidates for leaving the French team. Furthermore, it remains to be determined what will happen with Sergio Ramos, Keylor Navas, and Neymar.

The current PSG squad might be one of the greatestof all time but there’s noroom for everybody. While the arrivals of Lionel Messi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum, and others may have been a blessing for the Parisians, it could mean the end for a bunch of other players.

With a number of stellar signings, Mauricio Pochettino has suddenly had to leave some world renowned stars on the bench as he was unable to play them all at once. That’s why PSG are reportedly interested in downsizing their roster in winter.

PSG have reportedly placed Mauro Icardi and 6 other players on the transfer list

Having landed severalbig-name players has automatically lifted PSG’s hopes for this season. However, as we’ve seen so far, pitting so many superstars together could not always be easy. And there’s another aspect to consider, which is those who are left out.

According toSanti Aouna andSébastien Denis of Foot Mercato, PSG would let the following players leave come January: goalkeeper Sergio Rico, center-back Thilo Kehrer, left-backs Layvin Kurzawa and Abdou Diallo, midfielders Leandro Paredes and Rafinha and striker Mauro Icardi.

The report acknowledges that all seven are unlikely to leave in January but theclub would expect to get rid of at least three of them in winter. The ones who could leave sooner are Rico, Kurzawa, and Rafinha, for obvious reasons.

The Spanish goalie has noroom with Keylor Navas and Donnarumma ahead of him, while the left-back has also dropped in Pochettino’s pecking order withNuno Mendes‘ arrival, while the Brazilian has struggled even more for minutes with Ander Herrera, Danilo Pereira, Wijnaldum, Idrissa Gueye and others above him.

Anyway, the most surprising nameon the list might be Paredes. The Argentine midfielder has often started during his spell in Paris, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll actually leave the club.

Icardi, on the other hand, has been in the eye of the storm due to off-field conflicts over the last few months, so that’s a different case. However, as we’ve said before, not all seven would leave immediately, but the report understands thatPSG will move on all of them at some point.

Paris Saint-Germain had asked the French League to postpone their second round game of the Ligue 1 to September 9, after losing the UEFA Champions League final to Bayern Munich. Now, the team would be without three of their key players to face that game.

Apparently, the three players contracted the coronavirus during their holidays in Ibiza. Neymar, Di María and Paredes extended their holidays after playing three Champions League games in 10 days. They were placed in quarantine to avoid further infections and will be forced to quarantine for at least one week.

PSG on Twitter about positive Covid-19 cases

“Three PSGplayers are confirmed positive on the Sars CoV2 test and are subject to the appropriate health protocol”, wrote the French club on their Twitter account. “All players and staff will continue to be tested in the coming days”.

Although the club has not confirmed the names of the players, L’Equipe revealed that those players are no others than Neymar, Di María and Paredes, whoshared their vacation in Ibiza after the UEFA Champions League final.