Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier has allayed fears over Lionel Messi receiving a hostile reception upon his return to the French capital following his World Cup heroics.
The veteran playmaker helped Argentina to their third major success in Qatar last month after overcoming France in the final. Messi managed to get on the scoresheet twice, whilst his PSG colleague Kylian Mbappe notched a hat-trick despite ending on the losing side.
Messi is yet to return to action for the French champions having been granted an extended break following his commitments in Qatar and further celebrations in Argentina. Ahead of him being reunited with his teammates and French supporters, Galtier has moved to calm talk over somewhat of an uncomfortable reception for the Argentine.
“Obviously he will be well received at home,” he said. "On the reception at the stadium, I have no doubt that he will be well received at Parc des Princes.
“He won the most beautiful of trophies by being very good in this World Cup. Above all, now that he has achieved this incredible goal, we must remember what he has done since the start of the season with the team.”
Galtier then confirmed exactly when Messi can be called upon again and revealed that he could be in contention for a Coupe de France clash against Chateauroux on Friday evening.
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“We will be very happy to welcome him. Leo will surely come and join us on January 3,” the PSG boss added.
Messi has predictably been one of the standouts for PSG this season after what was initially a difficult first season at the Parc des Princes. The 35-year-old has scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 19 appearances in all competitions for Les Parisiens.
He carried that excellent form into the World Cup having won the Golden Ball for the best player at the tournament with six goals to his name. PSG certainly appeared to miss him in their most recent Ligue 1 outing having fallen to a 3-1 defeat to Lens on New Years’ Day - their first defeat since March.
Przemysław Frankowski gave the hosts the lead early on before former Newcastle target Hugo Ekitike equalised for PSG minutes later. Lois Openda and Alexis Claude Maurice secured victory for Lens.
Galtier was left furious with his side following the final whistle. He said: "“Lens deserve the win, and I had a hard time recognising my team. We conceded due to their strengths – transitions and deep runs.
“We were lacking in cohesion, we liquified as the game went on, even though we came back after the first Lens goal. We left a lot of space and made a lot of errors on the ball. There was also the way in which we expressed ourselves in possession, a lot of waste which was surprising from my boys, who aren’t usually like that. At certain points in the match, a lot of cohesion was missing.”
