Jérôme Rothen calls for Lionel Messi to be booed should the former PSG playmaker take part in Paris Olympic Games with Argentina | OneFootball

Former PSG winger and France international Jérôme Rothen has called for Lionel Messi (36) to be booed should the Argentine take part in the upcoming Paris Olympic Games’ football tournament.

Argentina U-23 manager Javier Mascherano has revealed that he would invite the 8-time Ballon d’Or to link up with the Albiceleste squad, which booked their qualification on Sunday for sports’ biggest event. The Paris Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11. However, those dates do not feature in the FIFA calendar, so any participation from Messi, or PSG’s Kylian Mbappé with France in that regard, is very doubtful. The football tournament’s final will be held in Messi’s former home – PSG’s Parc des Princes.

‘Messi took the piss on us’

Nevertheless, in his own talk show on RMC, Rothen s’enflamme, Jérôme Rothen has called for a blanket booing welcome should Messi were to return to France, where he spent two mostly disappointing seasons with Les Parisiens. “We should not forget what he has not given. As a French and a Parisian, seeing him parading with Argentina? Guys, if there is any way to dispute the fact that Messi took the piss on us for two years, boo him.” By calling to do so, Rothen intends to show the Inter Miami playmaker that French PSG fans are feeling aggrieved by his recent digs aimed at PSG, Paris and France altogether.

The 13-time France international adds that Messi never showed the love and admiration he received from Paris Saint-Germain fans. “He said it would be a disaster to live in Paris and that he hasn’t received the welcome he feels he was owed“, Rothen said. “Nonsense. He was above the Eiffel Tower like Neymar was. Every French folk showed him respect when he arrived. You expect respect in return and it never arrived.“

Rothen believes Messi never really showed appreciation to Paris Saint-Germain when, back in 2021, the Ligue 1 side was the only competitive European club able to match his financial demands when the Argentine was ousted from Barcelona. The aftermath of Argentina’s win at the 2022 World Cup final against Les Bleus certainly didn’t help Messi rekindle his troubled relationship with France. “When he was given off days, he never experienced Paris to the fullest and his performances never lived up to what we hoped for from him (…). We heard he was not celebrated accordingly after winning the World Cup. You beat France in the final! He shouldn’t have expected to see the red carpet rolled out for him.“

GFFN | Bastien Cheval