April 3 – Lionel Messi’s name was met by whistles from his own Paris St-Germain fans on Sunday before they fell to a seventh defeat of 2023 at home to Lyon.
Messi is in his second campaign at PSG but went into Sunday’s game with increasing speculation regarding a potential return to Barcelona.
Disgruntled supporters whistled after hearing his name announced in the starting lineup, the second time the Argentina captain had been booed at home.
PSG boss Christophe Galtier said he couldn’t understand it.
“Leo Messi tried very hard,” Galtier said. “It is not just about Messi and Kylian Mbappe. There were some technical mistakes in his [Messi’s] link-up play, but I think the whistles are hard to listen to because Leo Messi gives so much. He has got goals and assists in 2023, but it is also down to his teammates in terms of doing more to create more danger in the opposition penalty box.”
The perennial French champions are now only six points above Lens and Marseille with nine games left. PSG have lost seven of their 18 matches in all competitions since the end of the World Cup, having been unbeaten in all 22 games before the break.
Messi has not found the back of the net for PSG in the last four games, including the 2-0 defeat at Bayern Munich which saw his side exit the Champions League in the round of 16.
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