Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino slammed the French club’s supporters after they turned against Lionel Messi during their title celebrations.
The Ligue 1 giants reclaimed their league title at the weekend having earned a 1-1 draw against surprise package Lens at the Parc des Princes - a point being enough ahead of the game for them to be named as champions. It sees the side reclaim the title that they relinquished to Lille last season.
Despite the dominant way in which PSG have claimed the trophy this term - the club sitting with a 13-point advantage at the top of the table - fans have been left hugely unsatisfied.
The French side were eliminated from the Champions League during the round of 16 at the hands of Real Madrid - the Spanish side staging an impressive comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu. That failure comes amid a busy summer in which the club’s Qatari owners were busy in the transfer market as they welcomed Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Georginio Wijlnaldum and former Barcelona star Messi.
Supporters elected to voice their displeasure during their clash with Lens. Some fans celebrated the title success outside of the Parc des Princes, whilst others booed the current crop of stars - an action that infuriated Pochettino.
Talking to ESPN Argentina after the game, he said: "The whistles against Messi? It's unbelievable. These are hard things to accept. A difficult situation to imagine and which cannot be understood in my opinion.
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"All the more so with the greatness of Messi, what he gives and will continue to give to football."
Messi himself was certainly at the heart of the title success having netted a wonderful opener from distance against Lens before Corentin Jean scored a late equaliser for the visitors. The Argentine’s strike was only his ninth goal for PSG throughout the campaign - and just his fourth in the league - following his summer arrival from Barcelona.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s future has been left somewhat up in the air following his inconsistent start to life in the French capital. He still has just over a year remaining on his contract.
Meanwhile, Pochettino also faces an uncertain future with PSG despite having claimed the first league title of his managerial career. Having been in charge since being appointed as Thomas Tuchel’s successor in January 2021, reports from Les Parisien have suggested that the club is set to be sacked with the club having begun negotiating terms of his departur e.
He was originally linked with a switch to Manchester United but that is now not an option for the former Southampton boss, with Erik ten Hag having already been announced as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s long-term successor at Old Trafford.
Current Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte has been linked with a move to PSG having enjoyed a fantastic impact in north London since his mid-season arrival.
