Lionel Messi: PSG ‘reluctant’ to grant Argentina star his World Cup trophy wish | OneFootball

Lionel Messi has reportedly asked Paris Saint-Germain to let him hold the World Cup trophy in front of the club’s supporters at the Parc des Princes.

This is according to Goal, who understand that PSG are reluctant to grant Messi his wish.

The report claims that Messi wants to show off the World Cup trophy at PSG’s next home match, which is against Strasbourg on December 28.

However, it’s unclear whether Messi will even be back in Paris by then.

The 35-year-old is currently in Argentina following an open-top bus parade through Buenos Aires.

When will Messi play his next game for PSG?

French outlet Le Parisien, per Spanish outlet AS, understand that Messi will not return to training until at least the beginning of January.

He is currently on a 12-day holiday after winning the World Cup and is not expected to feature against Strasbourg or in PSG’s away fixture vs Lens on January 1.

PSG face Angers at the Parc des Princes on January 11 and that may be the night the club’s fans finally see their No. 30 back in action.

Why are PSG reluctant to let Messi show off the World Cup trophy?

According to Goal’s report, there are two reasons why PSG are reluctant to grant Messi his wish of parading the World Cup trophy at the Parc des Princes.

The biggest issue the club leaders have is that Messi won the World Cup at France’s expense.

Parading the World Cup trophy in front of a crowd comprised largely of French football fans may not go down too well.

Secondly, it’s claimed that PSG are worried about Kylian Mbappe’s reaction to Messi waving around the World Cup trophy.

Mbappe scored a hat-trick against Argentina – becoming only the second player in history to score three goals in a World Cup final – but still missed out on lifting the trophy.

It’s currently unclear how Messi and Mbappe’s relationship may have been impacted by recent events.

Mbappe is already back in PSG training

Mbappe, though, was in no mood for a long rest after the World Cup final.

Just 63 hours after suffering that gut-wrenching defeat to Argentina, Mbappe was seen back in training at PSG’s headquarters.

It’s clear that the world-class 24-year-old is determined to put the loss behind him as quickly as possible.