Ex- Argentina and Manchester City star Sergio Aguero has labelled those who critique the Paris Saint-Germain performances of Lionel Messi as "a**holes" in the wake of his latest outing against Real Madrid.
While the French giants eventually toppled Los Blancos courtesy of a last-gasp Kylian Mbappe winner but not before Messi wasted a glorious chance to put PSG in front 30 minutes earlier from the penalty spot.
After Mbappe had been tripped by Dani Carvajal, Messi stepped up from 12-yards only to hit a tame effort to the right of Thibaut Courtois who saved the strike comfortably.
Though Messi's blushes were spared by his younger teammate, the French media made clear what they thought of the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's efforts.
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French newspaper L'Equipe scored Messi three out of 10 in their player ratings, while ex-PSG forward Jerome Rothen went one further and suggested that the former Barcelona man offers the Parisians "nothing".
However, Aguero took to his Twitch stream to tell his followers: "Leo played well, he broke lines. I'm not saying that because he's a friend, but because he played hard. He was good and very active.
"In France, magazines and newspapers killed him. They are a**holes. I had an interview scheduled with a French magazine, but I said: 'No, because I support Leo Messi. Period. So goodbye, see you soon.' Now I'm angry."
Aguero is unlikely to be a fan of Rothen's assessment of the player, as he told RMC Sport Messi looks unhappy in the French capital.
"Of course, in terms of merchandising, it's wonderful to have attracted Leo Messi. People come to see Messi play at PSG. But you have to recognise that in a sporting context, he brings nothing to PSG.
"The biggest problem is that this was a great match, that's where we expect the great players to perform and tonight it was more of a drag than anything else.
"There are technical errors, losses of the ball, the missed penalty - but it can happen to anyone.
"It's, above all, his behaviour. He looks down at his boots, it looks like he's not happy."
Messi has undeniably failed to meet the lofty expectations that were placed on him since joining PSG in the summer on a free, notching just two league goals so far this term.
His feeble return of two strikes in 14 Ligue 1 games has led some to question whether the Argentine is still operating at the level that made him so lethal at Barcelona.
