PSG Will Cancel Lionel Messi Contract Renewal Because Of Fan Revolt Following Champions League Exit

Paris Saint Germain are set to withdraw their offer of a contract renewal for Lionel Messi because their fans “will not accept him” following Wednesday’s humiliating Champions League exit, it has been claimed.

The Parisians lost 1-0 in the last 16 first leg in Paris last month and then 2-0 in the second meeting in Bavaria last night to limp out 3-0 on aggregate.

The collapse resulted in a fifth elimination in the past seven years at the first knockout phase hurdle, and while PSG were previously reported to be pushing Messi to exercise the option of an additional season at the Parc des Princes, which came as part of the two-year deal he signed when joining from FC Barcelona in 2021, the offer could be withdrawn.

This has been concluded by PSG biographer and French RMC Sport journalist Thibaud Leplat, who said on the DirectoMARCA program on Spanish radio that the Qatari-backed giants will not renew Messi because the club’s fans will not accept him after the latest continental KO.

Leplat added that PSG’s future doesn’t seem to contain Messi nor his close friend Neymar either, though it is generally thought that the Ligue 1 leaders will do all they can to keep hold of Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, who he almost joined last year before signing a big money renewal until 2025 that helped him top Forbes’ list of the World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players in 2022 as Messi finished in second place.

Following the Bayern defeat, however, Mbappe said he was “calm” about his future. “The only thing that matters to me this season is winning the championship and then we’ll see,” he explained.

There could be some truth in Leplat’s claims given the way Messi and Neymar were infamously booed by the ultras in their first home match after PSG were kicked out of the UCL by eventual winners Real Madrid last season. It is yet to be seen how Messi will be treated on March 19 when his team hosts Rennes, and Neymar will be spared any potential bad reception given an injury that has ended his campaign three months early.

At the same time, the Catalan press alleges that Messi’s mind is practically made up on leaving PSG, so perhaps the two parties can part ways amicably.

All this must excite FC Barcelona supporters who dream of his return to their club, but that potential operation is complicated given the Catalans’ economic difficulties and struggles to navigate Financial Fair Play.