PSG fans blast Messi, Neymar, in protest outside club offices

Paris, May 3 (EFE).- Some 400 supporters of Paris Saint-Germain gathered Wednesday outside the offices of the Ligue 1 team to demand the resignation of club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and express disgust with star players such as Lionel Messi and Neymar.

The protest at PSG’s corporate headquarters in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt was organized by Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) and came a day after the club suspended Messi for two weeks without pay as punishment for his skipping practice for a trip to Saudi Arabia to fulfill a sponsorship commitment.

In a manifesto issued at the time of the protest, CUP said that management’s lack of vision had led to a squad filled with “overpaid players” who have no commitment to the club.

PSG have been on a downward slide since World Cup 2022 in Qatar, where Messi led Argentina to victory, and currently lead Ligue 1 by just 5 points over Olympique Marseille.

The Parisian side was eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 and failed to reach the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France.

“We are fed up with mercenaries, you must get rid of Messi,” a CUP member said through a megaphone, while others in the crowd focused their ire on Neymar, Marco Verrati, and coach Christophe Galtier.

Messi, a seven-time Ballon d’Or who came to PSG after 17 glittering seasons with FC Barcelona, looks certain to part ways with the French club at the end of the season. EFE atc/dr