Lionel Messi was met with loud jeers and whistles from the Paris Saint-Germain supporters when his name was read out by the stadium announcer at the Parc des Princes ahead of their Ligue 1 match against AC Ajaccio on Saturday evening. This came after Messi was suspended earlier this month for taking an unauthorised trip for two days to Saudi Arabia, for which he issued an apology to PSG. In contrast, PSG’s supporters cheered loudly shortly after when the announcer read out Kylian Mbappe’s name. Messi was also booed by PSG supporters whenever he touched the ball in the early stages of the first half.
Messi is expected to leave the French club this summer when his contract expires, and Barcelona have held extensive talks to re-sign him. However, they have been warned that they need to trim their wage bill in order to bring him back to Camp Nou. Messi also has an offer from Al-Hilal, with the Saudi Arabian side offering him a deal worth in the region of €400 million (£351m) a year. Al-Hilal president Fahd Bin Nafel said: ‘I will not tell you any news. If anything comes out from our media centre, you will get it. The group is more important to me than a player. Any star who comes to our club should know that we are a big club. We aim to improve. If you focus on one person, you lose the group.’