Lionel Messi reportedly feels that he is being treated unfairly at Paris Saint-Germain, with criticism of the 34-year-old a hot topic in the Parc des Princes dressing room.
Having arrived to a hero's welcome following his astonishing transfer from Barcelona last summer, Messi has mustered just two goals in 16 Ligue 1 appearances and put in a surprising number of under-par performances relative to his lofty standards.
While many fans believe that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner deserves a decent portion slack while adapting to a new league, French media have not been so forgiving.
After a quiet start to life in France, Messi is said to have been left bemused by negative verdicts on his display against Real Madrid in the Champions League last month, in which he missed a penalty and was overshadowed by teammate Kylian Mbappe, having previously fared better in European competition than league play.
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Newspaper L'Equipe gave him a rating of just 3/10, while ex-PSG player Jerome Rothen claimed that that the Argentine ace "offers nothing" to his old side.
It led an angry Messi to confide in senior members of the PSG squad over the criticism, according to Le Parisien and relayed by Get Football News France.
The forward's showing in the round-of-16 first leg sparked a debate over whether Mbappe was truly their best player after he scored a sensational winning goal, while big names such as Sergio Aguero and Cesc Fabregas leapt to his defence.
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Fabregas - Messi's former teammate at Barcelona - was asked whether the intense scrutiny was over the top.
"Undoubtedly. I've read things about people who shouldn't have seen him play against Real Madrid. Without being stellar, he played a good game," Fabregas stated.
"He missed a penalty. And that? Judging him for that seems ridiculous to me. Football goes much further. Courtois is a fantastic goalkeeper and he has merit.
And on reports of Messi being unhappy in the French capital, the Spaniard added: "Messi is happy when he wins, when he scores and when he manages to be decisive. That's why he has been who he is for fifteen years.
"The most similar to him is Cristiano Ronaldo, but I have not seen anyone like him."
Close friend Aguero was furious at the tirades of criticism levelled at his pal which led to a rant on his Twitch channel.
"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," the Manchester City legend affirmed.
"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."
