Paris Saint-Germain chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi has revealed the reason Lionel Messi was not allowed to parade the World Cup at Parc Des Princes.
The former Barcelona playmaker, 36, and the Albiceleste team beat France in Qatar to win the 2022 World Cup while he was still at PSG.
The Argentina star was brilliant throughout the tournament and scored seven goals for his side.
In an interview with Miguel Granados on OLGA last year, Messi admitted he ‘wasn’t happy’ at the Parc des Princes and seemed disappointed with his treatment after the World Cup.
‘It was understandable,’ he said. ‘We were in a situation where we [Argentina] were world champions and it was our fault that they [France] weren’t champions once again.’
Both Messi and his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe starred in a thrilling final in Qatar, scoring five goals between them as Argentina won on penalties.
Al-Khelaifi has now revealed that he could not allow Messi to celebrate at Parc des Princes because Mbappe was on the losing side.
In an interview with RMC TV, Al-Khelaifi said: ‘For me, like I said, if anyone talks about the fact that we didn’t celebrate him enough after he won the World Cup, we’re in France and he won against Kylian.
‘We are a French club. I don’t want the whole stadium to be against him either. I think we have to respect that.’
Back in September, Al-Khelaifi gave a different version of events following Messi’s interview on OLGA. In quotes carried by Football Espana, he said: ‘As everyone saw, because we even published a video, we celebrated Messi in training, and we also celebrated him in private.
‘But with respect, we are a French club. It was of course sensitive to celebrate at the stadium. We must respect the country he defeated, his teammates on the France team, and our supporters too.’
Messi scored 32 goals in 75 appearances during his time in the French capital, winning back-to-back Ligue 1 titles in the process.