September 24, (THEWILL) – Paris Saint-Germain president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has responded to comments made by Lionel Messi, suggesting the club did not adequately recognise his 2022 World Cup triumph with Argentina.
Messi inspired his country to their first World Cup title in 36 years after beating France in the final last December. However, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner expressed disappointment that PSG did not publicly celebrate his achievement in the same way his Argentina teammates were honoured by their respective clubs.
Although Messi was presented with a personal trophy in training and given a guard of honour by PSG players, he felt the lack of acknowledgement during a game was unfair, given his World Cup success. Messi acknowledged PSG’s reluctance to celebrate an Argentina win over France, but still voiced frustration over the club’s muted reaction.
Pushing back at Messi’s remarks in an interview this weekend, Al-Khelaifi clarified: “We honoured Messi in training, and we also celebrated in private. But, with respect, we are a French club. Of course, it made sense to celebrate at the stadium. [But] we have to respect the country he defeated, the French people and also our fans.”
While understanding of Messi’s perspective, the PSG president emphasised the club’s duties as a French institution meant a public celebration of Argentina’s World Cup win would have been inappropriate. Al-Khelaifi maintained PSG did recognise Messi’s achievement privately and continue to view him as an incredible player.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
