“We don’t want him”, and “it’s a joke, he disappears in important matches”: the ex PSG who is more critical of Messi, very tough after elimination in the Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain received another blow in Germany, where he was again knocked out by the Champions League, the big goal of the season and for which its Qatari owners do not stop injecting millions into their team. With the two best players in the World Cup final, Lionel Messi (who also just received the FIFA The Best award for the best player of last season) and kylian mbappePSG lost 2-0 with the Bayern Monaco (3-0 aggregate) and the press fell ferociously on those led by Christophe Galtier. But obviously the number one target was Lionel Messi.

With the elimination of the most important tournament, PSG are only one goal clear, Ligue 1, where they lead comfortably on 63 points, twelve more than Marseille, their immediate rivals. In the other national competition, the Coupe de France, it was eliminated by its classic rival.

“We don’t want Messi. He doesn’t want to invest in this club! I saw her statement where she said ‘I’m fine, acclimatised’ but what are you acclimatised to? Why did you score 18 goals or 16 assists this year against Angers and Clermont? But in games that matter it disappears altogether! Which is a joke, because we saw their matches at the World Cup,” said the former footballer who arrived from Monaco and played for PSG, Jérôme Rothen.

In his role as sports commentator at RMC Sport, Rothen understands that Messi does not have a serious commitment to the club and that he only stays for the millions he earns at the club: “Only PSG could give him this salary and, of course, PSG fell on both feet because they thought Messi would let us win. But is not so. He won’t make us any money.”

Rothen is one of the most critical of Messi in France. In February he destroyed it for the renewal of the contract: “Messi’s extension sucks, also in terms of templates. Managing MNM is complicated. Then there is the payroll issue. We have seen PSG blocked by financial fair play. Because payroll has skyrocketed. Now he has the opportunity to save a large sum of money as Messi’s salary is substantial. And strengthen the team.

“If I find out tomorrow that his contract has been extended, I will no longer go to the Parque de los Príncipes. This is a real problem for PSG because it blocks hiring because the paycheck is huge because of these players,” he continued on the contractual issue.

Now, with the elimination against Bayern Munich, he has returned to the fray and recalled the failure of 2022 where the team’s goalkeeper made a mistake that began to complicate the series; However, for the 44-year-old ex-footballer, the biggest culprit was Messi: “Last year against Real Madrid they all fell on Donnarumma, but did nothing else. The match against Marseille doesn’t matter to me. They made a good team in Ligue 1 but definitely not in the Champions League.”

“Of course he has a good foot and a good eye, and he still will have them at 50. But he’s not fit for the top tier in that frame of mind,” concluded Rothen.