Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

PSG coach Christophe Galtier once again faced the flak from the Lionel Messi fan base for substituting the Argentine against Juventus in the Champions League. The Parisians began their quest for European glory against the Italian side with a 2-1 win at home. PSG’s hotshot Kylian Mbappe continued his scoring exploits, netting both the goals in the win.

However, it was a sore night for Messi who neither score or assist. The night became darker for the 35-year-old after being taken-off by the coach in the 84th minute to hand in a debut to new signing Carlos Soler. This was the third time ‘La Pulga’ was subbed-off by Galtier this season, which has resulted in a outburst among the former’s fans.

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi has been taken-off three times already this season by PSG boss Christophe Galtier. Credits: Twitter

Too much disrespect- Fans call out Galtier for Lionel Messi treatment

Lionel Messi has started his second season at PSG with a bang, having racked up 4 goals and 6 assists in 8 games in all competitions. The Argentine has been sublime behind Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, creating loads of chances for the duo. However, Messi has expressed disappointment over his frequent substitution by the new boss Christophe Galtier. As a player of his calibre would certainly want to play the full 90 minutes week-in week-out, his frustration is justified given three times he has been taken-off in eight games.

While the seven-time Ballon d’Or hasn’t spoken publicly about it as usual, his fans haven’t taken it in good taste the treatment their ‘idol’ has been receiving at Parc des Princes. First the Mbappe controversy, and now the Galtier. A few days back, fans were fuming as they accused Mbappe of not respecting arguably the greatest player of all time enough. Fans felt Mbappe, and his ‘close friend’ Achraf Hakimi overlooked Messi constantly on the pitch.

They have now taken it to the social media as angry reactions flew in to Galtier’s 84th minute change which saw Lionel Messi make way for debutant Carlos Soler. Some fans felt it was a ‘disrespect’ to the GOAT, while some have even called for the former Barcelona player to leave the Parisian club immediately. Here are some of the picks from the fans’ outrage.

PSG’s next game comes up against Brest in Ligue 1 as Lionel Messi will be gearing up resume his regular exploits in the league. More than that, the Argentina captain will be hoping to see-off the 90 minutes unlike against Juventus. The Parisians are sitting atop of the table, level on points with second-placed Marseille as they will look to go three clear of the Igor Tudor’s men with a win against Brest.