French football information platform Receive French football news have rated Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ace Lionel Messi in a poll for Ligue 1 ‘Flop of the Season’. His fans were absolutely furious and took to Twitter to share their displeasure.
The Argentine joined PSG last summer after Barcelona failed to give him a new contract due to his financial problems and La Liga wage rules.
He struggled to replicate his usual form in his first year in the French capital. He amassed just six league goals in 25 appearances, while contributing 13 assists.
While Messi is only behind team-mate Kylian Mbappe (15) in the division for assists, his poor goalscoring form has received his fair share of criticism. The 34-year-old is expected to finish in single digits for the first time since the 2005-06 season (also 6).
He was also snubbed from Ligue 1 Player of the Year nominations and now finds himself on an ignominious list.
As of this writing, Messi has 48.5% of 7,550 votes for the ‘Flop of the Season’ title. He is ahead of Georginio Wijnaldum (38.8%), Xherdan Shaqiri (7.9%) and Jerome Boateng (4.9%)
Wijnaldum, who joined PSG on a free transfer from Liverpool, also failed to impress. Both Shaqiri and Boateng joined Lyon around the same time last summer and neither have made a good impression.
Shaqiri even left the club in January to sign for MLS side Chicago Fire despite scoring five goals in 11 top flight appearances for Les Gones.
Messi’s inclusion on the list, however, hasn’t gone down well with his fans, who believe he shouldn’t be on it.
Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter:
PSG star Lionel Messi shows signs of improvement
The former Barcelona resident has indeed struggled to adapt to Parisian life. However, lately there have been signs of improvement which inspire optimism for next season.
Since April, the Argentinian has scored four goals and three assists in seven league appearances. That includes a first-half brace against Montpellier last weekend (May 14).
This is almost 40% of his total goal contribution, an indication that Messi is finally settling down at PSG.
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Although he turns 35 next month, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner still has a few more years at the top. Fans are hoping to see better stats from him in the 2022-23 campaign.
