Rio Ferdinand’s reaction when Lionel Messi laid behind PSG wall for free-kick | OneFootball

Lionel Messi’s two-year spell at Paris Saint-Germain was very much a mixed bag.

While it’s true that the legendary forward won the Ligue 1 title in back-to-back seasons, that doesn’t tell the full story of what was a largely frustrating and difficult period for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Messi, who recently announced that he will be signing for Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami, has confessed that he wasn't happy in the French capital.

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"These were two years [PSG] in which I was not happy,” Messi told reporters, per The Mirror. "I did not enjoy myself, and that affected my family life, I missed a lot of my children's lives at school."

Messi's relationship with PSG's supporters also crumbled during his second and final season at the Parc des Princes, blamed (partly, at least) for the club's failures in the Champions League.

The whole reason Messi was signed was to help the club become European champions for the first time, but he failed to prevent PSG crashing out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 in consecutive seasons.

The legendary Argentine forward was subsequently booed and jeered by PSG's supporters on a handful of occasions.

The early signs had been promising, though. PSG registered an impressive 2-0 win over Manchester City in the 2021-22 Champions League group stages, with Messi netted a superb first goal for the Parisians.

When Messi laid behind PSG wall for free-kick

As PSG were closing out that particular game, fans were shocked to see Messi - arguably the greatest footballer in history - laying behind the wall while defending a free-kick.

Even the referee seemed confused at first:

How did Rio Ferdinand react?

This is quite a common sight in football these days, but Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand couldn’t believe that Messi was asked to carry out that particular duty.

“The moment [Mauricio] Pochettino asked him to do that on the training ground, someone should have gone in there and said ‘no, no, no, no, no’. It just doesn’t happen to Leo Messi.

"It’s disrespectful, I wouldn’t have it,” Ferdinand said on BT Sport after the match.

“If I was in that team, I’d say: ‘listen: I’ll lay down for you’.

“Sorry, I couldn’t have him laying down like that. He doesn’t get his kit dirty! That’s not what Messi does.”

Former England striker Peter Crouch added on Twitter: “This wouldn’t have happened at Barca #freemessifromdraughtexcluding”.

We never saw Messi lay down behind a wall in a big game against for PSG - and rightly so, Ferdinand would argue.

Pochettino was replaced at the end of Messi's first season by Christophe Galtier, who himself has reportedly been relieved of his duties.