PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) fútbol fans are not happy. It’s hard to blame them for that, especially after the team was knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid last week, even after holding a 2-0 aggregate lead. And booing players, even your own, is a time-honored tradition in the sport. Vandalizing, not so much.
Both things were part of the story for PSG, this weekend. First, during their League match against Bordeaux, fans booed both Lionel Messi and Neymar as their names were announced while cheering on Kylian Mbappe, who scored both of PSG’s Champions League goals against Madrid.
Then, it went even further, with fans leaving multiple offensive messages over the walls of the stadium and training center. The messages were mostly directed at club leadership, who fans feel is to blame for the fact that one of the teams with the best roster in the whole of professional football hasn’t been able to deliver the big-time trophies expected of them.
Plenty of the criticism was directed at the players and the coach, too. Messi and Neymar, two of the sport’s biggest stars, had a substandard two games against Real Madrid, and fans were quick to point the blame at them. Football is, however, a team sport, and though either of them could have indeed made the difference, it’s hard to put the blame for a loss squarely on one or two players’ shoulders.
Not that the type of fans who let their grievances out by vandalizing property probably understand this. Thankfully, for the fans that do, there’s the comfort of knowing that football always gives you another chance, and with a team so talented (including Lionel Messi and Neymar), PSG is bound to get their major trophy sooner rather than later.
