Much has been made of the fact that Lionel Messi was booed by Paris Saint-Germain fans a few weeks ago, following the teams elimination from the Champions League.
After PSG returned to the Parc des Princes, their fans took it upon themselves to boo almost the entire team against Bordeaux in a 3-0 win. There were surreal scenes, as Neymar was booed even when he scored PSG’s second of the match, but most of the focus was on Lionel Messi.
L’Equipe interviewed former Bayern Munich player and director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and were keen to get his thoughts on the matter, in a story carried by Diario AS.
“It’s clear that he doesn’t look happy in Paris. But it seemed as if he was gaining a bit of momentum in recent weeks. I remember the past summer, the Parisian fans gave him an incredible welcome.”
“A player like him doesn’t deserve to be booed. When I see scenes like that, my heart bleeds.”
He also spoke about the tie that led to those scenes, saying he was close to going to bed before Karim Benzema’s first goal.
“The Bernabeu is a place where crazy scenes happen often. If we had to repeat that match ten times, Paris would go through nine times. In football there are things that can’t be explained. PSG were trapped in a whirlwind.”
Rummenigge also opined on the events directly after the match, as PSG CEO Nasser Al- Khelaifi lost his temper and tried to seek out the referees.
“It didn’t make sense to lose the head. But it was clear whoever lost would react badly.”
“Nasser is a rational person, he is in control of himself. He is always polite, attentive, but football is very emotional. The next time I see him, I will advise him not to go to the referee’s dressing room. WE shouldn’t forget he is still a young President.”
