The elimination of Paris Saint Germain (PSG) from the Champions League still leaves painful wounds for PSG supporters. Imagine, on paper, PSG is actually already 2 goals ahead of Madrid. However, this advantage was not taken advantage of. PSG were eliminated at the hands of Real Madrid, who had a strong mentality and never gave up.
Suddenly, the 1-3 defeat of Madrid became a matter of reproach for the PSG players. Mega star Lionel Messi is back in the spotlight. His luck as the winner of the Ballon d’Or trophy sluggish at the Santiago Bernebeu. It didn’t stop there, in the continuation of the French League competition, Messi became one of the targets of the fans’ whistles when PSG met Bordeaux. The fans mocked Messi and Neymar since their names were read as part of the main squad.
The cynical whistles of the fans are understandable. They’re not just sad. They are also disappointed with the performance of PSG, who are already one foot in the last 8 of the Champions League. Messi is one of PSG’s hopes in the Champions League. Think back to when Messi was greeted by his presence in Paris.
A quite thunderous welcome from PSG fans for Messi. Of course, this response was accompanied by high expectations. One of the most certain expectations is the hope that Messi can help PSG win in the Champions League. The Champions League trophy is one of the prestigious trophies that has not yet been in the PSG cabinet. The club’s financial investment is already fairly high in building a squad that can compete in Europe.
In general, from the squad side, PSG have an elite squad. Each line is inhabited by star players. However, a large investment from Qatari businessman Nasser Al-Khelaifi still ended up empty. PSG’s best achievement in the Champions League was when they entered the final in 2019. At that time, PSG narrowly lost to Bayern Munich.
The rest, PSG are often eliminated in the qualifying round, even in some matches PSG lost in a painful way as happened in Madrid. The sign, PSG need to build a team mentality. Winner mentality. Ideally, success at the domestic level can also spread at the European level. In fact, PSG is only good in the domestic league, but less convincing in Europe. Inevitably, PSG is often a team that is not too favorite in the European context.
It’s okay, PSG has a myriad of star players. However, this group of star players need to have a motor that can motivate them to strengthen their starlight on the gridiron. Messi, who attended PSG, was expected to show his luck as shown during his Barcelona uniform. However, that hope is still far from being roasted. PSG’s final target is the French League trophy. The opportunity is so open for PSG to win the trophy. And, it could be Messi’s first collection during his PSG uniform.
However, on the other hand, PSG fans need Messi who can make a big contribution to the Champions League. Winning a domestic trophy has become commonplace for PSG. What fans look forward to the most is the Champions League trophy. Therefore, the whistling of the fans is a sign of disappointment in Lionel Messi’s performance.
Yes, Messi did not make a significant contribution in the two legs against Madrid in the Champions League. PSG hero is Kylian Mbappe who managed to score 1 goal each for two legs. Therefore, Mbappe does not get ridicule as received by Messi and even Neymar. A further meaning is that Mbappe has more of a place in the hearts of PSG fans, than the two South American stars.
Nevertheless, PSG fans should be wary of Mbappe’s status, who will be free. There has been no meaningful approach from PSG. Meanwhile, Madrid have strong hopes that the French player will join Madrid in the next transfer season. If Mbappe really joins Madrid, PSG will definitely have to rub their chests as a sign of disappointment. Instead of defending Mbappe by refusing a large sum of money from Madrid to build a trio of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe at PSG, the results were not profitable.
What happens is that Mbappe often makes the difference in PSG’s games, while Messi has not given his best performance from 26 matches. From 27 matches with PSG, Messi only scored 7 goals and 10 assists. Contribution that is far from what has been done while at Barca. Therefore, Mbappe’s departure will be the biggest loss for PSG. What’s more, Messi and Neymar still haven’t shown a performance that can lift the best achievements in Europe.
ASL
