PSG has been forced to reinforce security in front of the homes of Messi, Neymar and Verrati, as well as in the training facilities outside the capital, due to the anger of a sector of the fans due to the team’s drift. The measure was taken after the insults against these players uttered on Wednesday by a group of the Ultras Paris Collective (CUP), in front of the club’s administrative headquarters, and the concentration of some of them in front of Neymar’s house, to whom they shouted that Will leave.
The feeling of crisis is total in the leading team in the French league, frustrated for another year in its ambition to win the Champions League and eliminated from the French Cup. Messi’s sanction and dismissal for his unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia has been the last straw for the patience of many fans, fed up with the behavior of their stars and a sports management that they consider terrible. The coach, Christophe Galtier, also has his days numbered due to very disappointing performances. The parade of technicians has been constant in recent years.
In a statement, PSG condemned “with the utmost firmness the intolerable and insulting actions of a group of individuals.” Roman Mabille, president of the ultras, distanced himself from the intimidating protest in front of Neymar’s home. The Brazilian reacted to the harassment with a philosophical text on social networks. “Don’t let people get you into their storm; Put them in your peace,” the message said.
The CUP, in a manifesto, lamented a transfer policy that has given “golden bridges to mercenaries”, to “overpaid players” and without ambition, to “stars at the end of their career” who are mere “sellers of shirts â€. “To get rid of parasitic players, it’s time to clean up the locker room,” added the ultras, implicitly alluding to Neymar, which arouses strong rejection.
In the French press the situation of PSG occupied a great space yesterday. According to Le Parisien, Messi – suspended for two weeks, including two league games – will no longer wear the team’s shirt, despite the fact that he has a contract until the end of June. In its editorial, the capital’s newspaper estimated that the severe reaction of the Qatari property would not have been such if it had not already been decided, before the last episode, the non-renewal of the Argentine. The owners, therefore, would have confused authority with authoritarianism. For the editorialist, the board has wanted to compensate for its permissiveness in the past with a disproportionate reaction that damages the image of the club. Despite not meeting expectations, Le Parisien thinks that “the best player in the world would have deserved another start”.
L’Équipe, for its part, found, ironically, that “love stories end badly in general, and stories without love too”. But the sports newspaper also pointed to a reaction of excessive harshness and wondered if those from Doha had acted in the same way with Messi before the World Cup in Qatar.
