Lionel Messi didn’t mind the boos in his final game against already French league champions Paris Saint-Germain, who lost 3-2 to Clermont on Saturday.
On a warm afternoon, club supporters booed Messi as his name blared over a loudspeaker as part of the Parc des Princes line-up. A few minutes later, the Argentinian entered the court, smiling and holding the hands of his three children.
Before the first permit, a group photo came and kissed the little ones on the foreheads.
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“I would like to thank the club, the city of Paris and the people for the past two years and wish them well in the future,” Messi said on the team’s website.
In his two seasons at PSG, Messi won two French league titles and a domestic Champions trophy, as well as scoring 32 goals and assisting 35 in various competitions.
Messi scored in a 1-1 draw against Strasbourg a week ago, extending the record for the Parisians to their 11th French league title. By reaching 496 goals in his career, the Argentinian also broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record in Europe’s top five leagues.
The new World Cup champions did not sign the contract extension offered by Qatar-backed PSG. The relentless press has linked him to a Saudi club that earns more than Cristiano.
Inter Milan appear to be another option, but will be unable to match the Saudi offer of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Messi did his best to stay on the scoreboard on the final day of the French league. After 14 minutes, one of his shots was blocked by goalkeeper Molly Diaw. Another one went on goal in the 31st minute and a twisted free-kick went over the frame in the 42nd minute.
Nothing selfish, Kylian Mbappe, at 54, escaped alone and replaced Messi with a shot that went over the crossbar. The Argentinian star tried to swing the net for 59 but Diaw deflected the shot low to the side of his stick.
The goalkeeper again frustrates the star by saving the free-kick with his palm.
After the final whistle, Messi hugged his teammates and shook hands with the Clermont players.
PSG took a 2-0 lead after a header from Sergio Ramos in the 16th minute and a penalty from Mbappe in the 21st minute.
But Clermont equalized with goals from Johann Gatien and Mehdi Zephan. Grejon Kiei scored the winning goal with 63 points.
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