Lionel Messi, the star forward for Paris Saint-Germain, has had a rough go of it in France thus far. The boos from the stands have become louder as of late for the 35-year-old, and only last week, the Argentine was banned for two weeks for an unapproved journey to Saudi Arabia.
The decision mandated that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner publicly apologize for his behavior and explain his motivations. The suspension has since been removed, so the veteran went back to work in preparation for Saturday’s game against Ajaccio.
PSG ultras have demonstrated both at the club’s training facility and outside Messi’s Parisian home in response to the ongoing issue. Since news of the earlier punishment for the Argentine was announced, several players and managers have spoken out in his defense.
What did Carlos Tevez say about PSG’s treatment of Lionel Messi?
Antoine Kombouare, former manager of French club Nantes, was the first to speak out in support of Lionel Messi, arguing that Paris Saint-Germain do not merit the services of the reigning World Cup winner. Then, Messi’s former teammate and current Argentina U20 coach Javier Mascherano also slammed the Ligue 1 winners for their treatment of the superstar.
Carlos Tevez, a legend among Argentine strikers, has joined the rising chorus of people who feel that Lionel Messi has not been treated well during his time at Parc des Princes: “If you tell me, being a world champion, that he had to go and apologize for going on a trip when he had a day off, I would go back to Rosario and stay there drinking mate.
“You -PSG- have to apologize to me, but Messi, the truth that the club puts above everything. You have to take off your hat. Afterwards, we can say thousands of things about a club where they didn’t really take care of him. From the first moment he arrived, they didn’t take care of him.
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“It will be because of the World Cup or something else, but you can’t treat a player like that who has led PSG to know him. I played against PSG when I was at Manchester United and they were in the middle of the table. The same as City when I signed, we had four showers and we changed in a container”, he said on TyC Sports.
