According to sources close to the club who spoke to AFP on Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain has increased security at the club’s training field as well as at the houses of Lionel Messi and Neymar in response to recent demonstrations by supporters who are upset about recent losses at the Ligue 1 leaders.
On Wednesday evening, several hundred patrons of the Paris Saint-Germain football club gathered in front of the club’s offices. While there, they lit smoke flares and chanted insults about underachieving players Lionel Messi, Neymar, and the Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.
After that, several of them went to Neymar’s house, which is located in a posh area west of Paris, and yelled things like “Neymar, get lost” there.In a statement released on Wednesday evening, the club Paris Saint-Germain issued the following statement: “Paris Saint-Germain condemns in the strongest possible terms the unacceptable and insulting actions of a small group of individuals.”
“Regardless of the fact that we hold such divergent opinions, there is no excuse for this behavior.” Neymar, who has been sidelined with injuries since joining PSG and won’t be able to play again until the conclusion of the current campaign, responded to the news by posting the following message on Instagram: “Don’t allow them put you in their maelstrom. They should be allowed to rest in peace.
According to two sources who spoke to AFP on the condition that they not be identified, the club made the decision to increase security at its training field as well as outside the residences of the players who were singled out during the demonstrations.
According to one of the sources, a number of the spectators had expressed the desire to participate in the same activity each night. According to the source, the demonstrators dispersed “calmly, several minutes after their arrival” without engaging in any violent confrontation with the police.
After receiving a two-week suspension on Wednesday for going to Saudi Arabia to fulfill a commercial function without first obtaining authorization from the club, Lionel Messi’s future at Paris Saint-Germain has been thrown into serious doubt.
The World Cup winner from Argentina will be 35 years old when his current contract expires at the conclusion of the current season. Numerous teams, including Barcelona, are allegedly interested in signing him. On Sunday, PSG fell to Lorient 3-1 at home in Ligue 1 action. Messi participated throughout the entirety of the match.
A portion of the Paris Saint-Germain fanbase recently jeered at him because they regard him as a symbol of all the things the club, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary of the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf Kingdom, has done wrong by focusing on superstar acquisitions while failing to construct a really competitive squad.
This season, Messi has scored 20 goals in all competitions, and he leads Ligue 1 in assists with 15. He currently has 15 assists to his name. However, after he led Argentina to victory at the World Cup in Qatar, his form, along with that of the majority of the PSG squad, has fallen significantly.
PSG’s lackluster effort against Lorient resulted in the club’s sixth loss in 17 Ligue 1 matches during the year 2023. Despite this, they continue to have a five-point lead over Marseille at the top of the table with five matches yet to play.