Lionel Messi smiled as he left the PSG pitch one final time after being booed for missing a chance
Lionel Messi’s time at Paris Saint-Germain is not coming to the kind of end most were predicting when he joined and he seemed rather happy to be leaving the club after getting booed by their fans once again.
Messi was expected to completely dominate the ‘Farmer’s League’ of Ligue 1 when he arrived in Paris in July 2021 but it just hasn’t been that easy for him.
The seven time Ballon d’Or winner did improve in his second season in France but the team still failed to get past the last 16 of the Champions League and haven’t dominated the league in the way many would expect, despite winning it.
It came as little surprise to anyone earlier in the week when it was finally confirmed that the World Cup winner would be leaving the team after their final game on Saturday.
The decision comes just weeks after he’d been suspended by the club for flying to Saudi Arabia and missing training, with the 35-year-old strongly linked with a move to the Middle East.
On Saturday he was once again on the end of a negative reaction from the supporters during the 3-2 loss at home to Clermont Foot.
Christophe Galtier’s side went 2-0 up after 21 minutes but the visitors got level before half time. After the break Kylian Mbappe’s brilliant run set up Messi for the perfect chance but he put it over, leading to a chorus of boos.
The forward did have another shot on target a few minutes after his miss and it was well saved by Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw.
Just five minutes later Grejohn Kyei scored the winning goal for the visitors and it wasn’t like they’d been dominated throughout by their much richer opponents.
Lens victory over Auxerre meant that Franck Haise’s side finished just one point behind the Galacticos from the Parc des Princes.
It meant that Messi leaves the club with one final loss and one final round of booing so it’s no wonder he looked pretty happy to be on his way out.
The former Barcelona star could be seen smiling to himself as he walked off the pitch at full time for the last occasion as a PSG player.
Galtier is expected to follow the forward out of the club with league title success nowhere near enough to keep a manager in their job.
There has been talk that Neymar could also follow his teammate out the door, though Kylian Mbappe confirmed he would be staying last week.
