The one from Lionel Messi to Paris Saint Germain has been the most resounding pass in recent years. His status as the best footballer of the last two decades caused enormous expectation in France. And its benefits were not in line with what was expected. In this context, criticism was not long in coming and was more than expected. However, that did not sit well with the player’s entourage, as reported a few days ago by the newspaper ‘Le Parisien’.
Even, in said medium, a source from the PSG locker room was mentioned that it was the same Argentine player who told his teammates that he could not understand the questions expressed after the Champions League round of 16 match against Real Madrid , in which he missed a penalty.
Criticism of Lionel Messi
The thick weather affects PSG at a crucial moment, hours before the second leg match for the Champions League round of 16, against Real Madrid, which is played this Wednesday at 3 pm in Spain.
Criticism from the French press crosses the Atlantic Ocean and is magnified when it reaches Argentina, where idolatry for Messi grew exponentially after winning the Copa América in Brazil last year. The teammates of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner also intervene to defend him. Between one thing and the other, the analysis is fed back and an endless chain is made.
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Given Messi’s supposed concern about the issue, the question arose almost inevitably. ‘Could criticism also be affecting Messi’s performance?’ From France, some journalists took it with humor: “I’m not sure that Lionel Messi gets up to listen to French media on Sunday mornings,” ex-basketball player and current commentator Stephen Brun quipped.
The stats are accurate
Messi’s mark, of two goals in a national championship with Ligue 1 so advanced, already in March, is the worst of his career since 2006, when he was barely 18 years old and took his first steps in Barcelona.
If you analyze his form in various games this season, and compare it with any of the previous 15, the criticism seems to be justified. His soccer performance declined. We must not lose sight of the fact that logic is diminished by his age (34), the difficulties of adapting to a new team…
However, the difference in numbers from one year to another is abysmal. In the 2020/21 season, in Spain, Messi scored 30 goals in the Spanish League (35 matches), 5 in the Champions League (6 matches) and 3 in Cups (6 matches between Super Cup and Copa del Rey). The total is 38 goals in 47 games (0.80 per game) with Barcelona.
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Except for the international tournament, where he has already equaled the mark, the other records seem impossible to reach. In France, in the current year (2021/22), he has scored 5 goals in 17 games in Ligue 1, has not scored in his only Cup game and has scored 2 in six Champions League games. The seven goals in 24 games give him a goal average of 0.29 per game at PSG. Something that would not be so bad in other strikers, but that is absolutely unusual in Messi’s career.
This says the European press
The newspaper ‘L’Equipe’ rated him with 3 points the day he missed the penalty against Real Madrid. And in the last game with Nice, in which PSG suffered the absence of Kylian Mbappé (suspended) and fell 1-0, the Argentine’s performance was poor again.
“I don’t doubt what Lionel Messi was throughout his career, but his game and the game he played against Nice are still scandalous”the chain ‘RMC’ punished him.
On the same portal, another very tough analyst with Messi is usually Jérôme Rothen, 43, and a former PSG soccer player. “In terms of ‘merchandising’, it is wonderful to have attracted Messi. The shirts are sold and people go to the field to see Messi. But we must recognize that he does not contribute anything sportingly ”.
The issue reached significance in the Argentine media, but also in Messi’s former teammates, such as Kun Agüero, who came out to defend him: “In France they don’t understand anything about football,” he accused them. And Cesc Fabregas completed: “It is absurd that they criticize him for missing a penalty. Football is much more than that”.
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Jean-Michel Larqué, another former PSG player who turned to journalism, then explained his position. “We judge players based on what they do on the pitch, not what they’ve done in recent years. In football you don’t live in the past. Leo Messi, at PSG, leaves us hungry and we regret it. He may have to adjust, but until he does, we can say he’s no good.”.
In ‘RMC’, Rothen lamented the hostile reactions of the “pro-Messi”. And he also dismissed the issue of wear and tear. “I was the same age when he won the Copa America for Argentina last July. He almost won the trophy by himself. I don’t care if he has extenuating circumstances. We are talking about Lionel Messi”, he complained.
THE NATION, FROM ARGENTINA
OF THE GROUP OF NEWSPAPERS OF AMERICA
(GDA)
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