Former Paris Saint-Germain player Jerome Rothen has criticised Lionel Messi’s intent and mentality at the French club.
Messi’s time at PSG came to an end as he played his last match against Clermont Foot last week. He will be moving to MLS team Inter Miami as a free agent upon the expiration of his contract with the club.
Rothen has now accused Messi of not wanting to adapt during his time in Paris, saying he didn’t want to train in the morning.
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There was also one instance in which the Argentine star left training before the conclusion, And the manager Christophe Galtier clarified that the forward had a calf issue.
However, Rothen said that was not the case, as he said (via RMC Sport): “We got wind of a lot of things. We mopped up all that because it wasn’t the time to talk about it. Remember the day he left training.
“The club had covered it all up saying it was a small calf injury. It was all wrong, absolutely wrong. The reason? Monsieur was fed up with this that was offered to him in training.”
He added: “It was certainly a day when his children were suffering in my opinion (ironic), He was not well in his head so he left training. He went back to the locker room , he took a shower, he left. It shows how much he respected his coach and his teammates.”
Speaking more about Messi’s unwillingness to adapt at PSG, Rothen said: “He very often wanted to change the pace of training. He did not want to train in the morning.
“He told the staff on several occasions that training in the morning is not good. That you have to train in the afternoon. Fortunately the staff did not give up. This shows that he wanted to change certain things and that he did not want to adapt.”
Messi joined PSG as a free agent in the summer of 2021 after Barcelona could not renew his contract due to La Liga’s wage cap rules. He played two years for the club.
