Lionel Messi made his home debut for PSG this weekend against Lyon but was replaced in the second half which wasn’t accepted well by the Argentinian.
Former Messi’s teammate Thierry Henry has admitted that he was not surprised by Messi’s reaction after Mauricio Pochettino decided to substitute his star player.
Messi was substituted in the 76th minute with the sides level at 1-1 but his team went on to win with Mauro Icardi’s goal in the stoppage time.
When substituted, Messi appeared to refuse a handshake with his coach and later was not celebrating Icardi’s game-winner.
Asked whether he is surprised by Messi’s reaction, Thierry Henry said:
“No, not really. It does not surprise me. Maybe he didn’t want to go out. We don’t know what they’re saying to each other. Let’s not start the controversy. He surely wanted to stay on the pitch so he could score.”
Messi made a limited impact against Lyon, even though he hit the post. The Argentinian has yet to score for his new team after departure from Barcelona.
Anyway, the French legend who played three seasons with Messi in Barcelona is confident that his former teammate will soon be in his recognizable form and will have a major impact for PSG.
“It will come, it will come quietly. It takes time to adapt even for the best player in the world.”
Following the game, Pochettino was asked to explain his decision.
“Everyone knows we have great players in the squad, we have 35 players. But we must make decisions for the good of the team. Sometimes they lead to a positive result and sometimes not.”
“These are decisions we need to take. Sometimes it pleases people, or it doesn’t. I asked him how he was, and he said he was fine.”
