'Fans never whistled in Barcelona': Messi breaks silence on being booed in front of family

Lionel Messi's move to Paris Saint Germain from Barcelona was seen as a great chance for the French team to lift their first European title. However, things did not go according to the plan as they crashed out of the Champions League early and with fans booing him the season only got tougher. Messi failed to replicate the Barcelona form and fans' jeers were something the Argentine had never faced in his career at Barca.

Lionel Messi found life at PSG a little tough as he only found the back of the net 11 times in 34 matches across all competitions, something he had rarely witnessed during his illustrious time at Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi booed by fans

The jeering by fans was something which was not liked by the 34-year-old especially when his family were present at the stadium. In an interview with TYC Sport, Lionel Messi shared his feeling about being booed by fans. The Argentina superstar said, "I didn't like my family being in the stadium and hearing the PSG fans whistling at me. I didn't like my children having to go through that."

He further added, "In Barcelona, the fans never whistled at me. When the PSG fans did it, it was something new for me. The whistles of the PSG fans? It is understandable the situation of the people and the anger. Then whether I agree or not about the whistles to me and Ney, we were the most pointed out... But well, it happened."

Following the arrival to PSG from Barcelona, Messi endured a difficult start as he had to deal with an injury soon after which he tested positive for COVID-19, which influenced his tough start to life away from Barça. He said “The truth is that it hit me very hard. The symptoms were very similar to those of most people. But it left me with scars, I couldn’t train.”

Lionel Messi on PSG's defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League

Besides talking about the treatment given by PSG fans, Lionel Messi also spoke about PSG losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League. PSG was leading Real Madrid by two goals in the last-16 tie. However, the match was turned on its head in just under 30 minutes. Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema managed to score hat tricks within 18 minutes to completely turn things around. PSG lost the match 2-3 and exited the Champions League, which came as a huge blow to the team.

Messi during the interview admitted that the result 'killed him and his teammates'. He said "Losing against Real Madrid in the UCL? The Real Madrid tie killed us. It killed me and the whole dressing room in general. We really wanted to win the Champions League."