Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami side will take on Paris Saint-Germain this weekend at the Club World Cup, but the legendary forward’s stint with the French team has been blasted by another former PSG star.
Messi spent two seasons with PSG from 2021-23 after his shock departure from Barcelona.
They were hardly disastrous as he scored 32 goals in 75 games and won two Ligue 1 titles, but the blockbuster front three alongside Kylian Mbappe and Neymar could not deliver Champions League glory.
He left in 2023 for Inter Miami, where he is still going strong at 38 years old, and has helped them reach the knockout stages of the Club World Cup.
In the last 16 the MLS side will take on the European champions and Messi may not get a warm reception from fans of his former club.
Ex-PSG winger Jerome Rothen has hit out at the Argentinian’s stint in France as bulls**t and suggested he ‘wet himself’ over returning to Paris for the Olympics last year as he did not play for his country at the Games.
‘I did all of Leo Messi’s matches at the Parc des Princes, I didn’t miss a single one,’ Rothen told RMC Sport. ‘Even that was a load of bullsh**t.
‘Of course, when he has the ball at his feet, all the lights come on and the stadium lights up because this guy is a genius and has incredible talent. But really! Let the fans come with their whistles that they bought for the Olympics to boo Leo Messi with Argentina, but since he wet himself, he didn’t come. At least there will be an opportunity in the United States.’
After leaving PSG Messi spoke out about what a difficult time it was for him and his family after leaving Barcelona for Paris.
He told Mundo Deportivo in 2023: ‘These were two years in which I was not happy.
‘I did not enjoy myself, and that affected my family life. I missed a lot of my children’s lives at school. [They] were difficult for me. But they are behind me.’
Rothen is not in sympathetic mood, though, saying: ‘His story and the fact that his family was unhappy, do you know where they lived? You know Paris and the surrounding area, they lived in Neuilly in a 500m2 house, protected from everyone and with a private school for his children.
‘And you think that there, he was screwed. No, don’t make us believe that!’
It isn’t the first time Rothen has slammed Messi, declaring his Ballon d’Or victory in 2023 a ‘disgrace’ as he wasn’t even the best player at his club, never mind in the world.
Inter Miami and PSG at the Club World Cup
Inter Miami
Group A – second place
0-0 vs Al Ahly
2-1 vs Porto
2-2 vs Palmeiras
PSG
Group B – first place
4-0 vs Atletico Madrid
0-1 Botafogo
2-0 Seattle Sounders
‘It’s a disgrace! Of course it’s a disgrace,’ he said. ‘As far as I’m concerned, it should have gone to [Erling] Haaland. From August 2022 to June 2023, what criteria lead us to say that Leo Messi is above the others? There’s hardly any criterion where he’s number 1.
‘If we look at his record, he’s inferior to Haaland, even though he won the World Cup. Haaland won everything with Manchester City. And of course you can’t compare him with the World Cup, because Haaland is Norwegian.
‘At PSG, Messi wasn’t above the rest, he wasn’t the best player at the club. It’s problematic that a guy who’s won the Ballon d’Or, who’s supposed to be the best player in the world, isn’t even the best player at his club.
‘My journalist friends [the voters], for the last three or four years, Messi hasn’t been the best player in the world. You have to stop being delirious! And over the last four years, he’s won two Ballon d’Or awards. So for me, it’s shameful. I’m hallucinating.’