Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

The way Lionel Messi responded when some supporters ‘booed and whistled’ his name on Sunday night inside the Parc des Princes spoke volumes of the blow-hot blow-cold relationship between the two parties. Whistles of discontent were heard before their Ligue 1 match against Lyon for the 35-year-old forward, who has been heavily linked with a return to his former club Barcelona of recently.

Some of the stadium’s 80,000 spectators voiced their unwelcome feelings as his name was called in the lineup, but Lionel Messi didn’t appear overly upset by the unfavourable reception. Meanwhile, when the announcer read out Kylian Mbappe’s name, the Argentine’s PSG teammate, he was greeted with thunderous applause.

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi made his feelings clear towards the booing PSG crowd ahead of their Ligue 1 outing against Lyon. Credits: Twitter

Lionel Messi ‘laughs off’ boos from own fans

With a goal from highly-rated striker Bradley Barcola in the 56th minute, Paris Saint-Germain ultimately lost the Ligue 1 match, which also happened to be their second consecutive home loss in the league. Yet, the disapproval of Lionel Messi’s appearance at the Parc des Princes ignited a heated discussion among fans and commentators.

Since then, a video showing Messi’s response to the fan backlash has appeared online. The World Cup winning Argentina captain handled it well in the video by simply laughing-off the boos. Here’s the video of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner reacting lightly to the jeers:

Spanish journalist Dani Gil, who was present at the Parc des Princes, captured the fans’ responses. He said:

“The fracture with the stands is unquestionable at this stage of the season, increased by rumours of his possible return to Barcelona.”

After the game, Lionel Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry told Amazon Prime Video that hearing whistles from the stadium for the Argentine was ’embarrassing’. He said:

“You can’t whistle one of the best players on the team, who has 13 goals and 13 assists this season. Personally, I would like to see him finish his career at Barcelona, in Europe. After that, I don’t know what he will do. Because the way he left Barcelona after everything he did… I didn’t really like it. For the love of football, he should go back to Barcelona.”

The World Cup Golden Ball winner’s PSG contract expires this summer, and he has been linked with a move back to Barcelona. In his two seasons with the Parisian club, Messi has experienced two Champions League last-16 exits. With nine games remaining, the defending French champions are now only six points ahead of Lens and Marseille.

After going undefeated in all 22 games prior to the World Cup break, PSG have lost seven of their last 18 games across all competitions. While discussing a contract extension with PSG, Lionel Messi has also been approached by Barcelona about a potential return to the team where he played for the majority of his career. Speaking about the whistles targeted against his No.30, PSG manager Christophe Galtier said:

“I find it harsh. We’re just waiting for Leo and Kylian [Mbappe] to unlock the game. Leo is our creator, so he tries a lot and automatically has a lot of waste, but around Leo, you need to look at the function of the players. We can’t expect everything from Leo and Kylian.

“Leo tried and succeeded in some things, mismatches or otherwise, but he also missed link-ups with his teammates. These whistles are unfair in my opinion because Messi gave a lot in the first part of the season. He’s a passer and scorer in 2023. It’s also up to the others to do more and bring more danger.”