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Last Update: May 04, 2023, 16:08 IST
Neymar and Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain (Twitter)
Several hundred PSG fans gathered outside club headquarters in the evening, where they lit fumes and chanted hostile chants about underperforming stars Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Paris Saint-Germain has ordered extra security at the club’s training ground and the homes of Lionel Messi and Neymar following protests by fans angry at the Ligue 1 leaders’ recent results, sources close to the club told AFP on Thursday.
Several hundred PSG supporters gathered outside the club headquarters on Wednesday evening, where they lit smokestacks and chanted hostile chants about underperforming stars Messi, Neymar and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.
Some of them, dressed in black, then went to Neymar’s home in a wealthy suburb west of Paris, where they chanted “Neymar, get lost”.
“Paris Saint-Germain condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable and disgraceful actions of a small group of individuals,” a club statement said on Wednesday evening.
“Regardless of the differences, nothing justifies such behavior.”
Neymar, who has been plagued by injuries at PSG and is out until the end of the season, reacted by writing on Instagram: “Don’t let people storm you. Keep them in your peace.”
Two sources told AFP on condition of anonymity that the club has decided to increase security at its training ground and outside the homes of players named during the protests.
Some fans had indicated, said one of the sources, that “they wanted to do the same thing every evening.”
The source said the protesters left “peacefully, several minutes after their arrival” without any clashes with the police.
Messi’s future at PSG was thrown into doubt on Wednesday after he was suspended for two weeks for traveling to Saudi Arabia for a business role without the club’s permission.
The 35-year-old World Cup winner is out of contract at the end of the Argentine season, with a number of clubs including Barcelona reportedly keen to sign him.
Messi played the full game in PSG’s 3-1 home defeat by Lorient in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
He was recently mocked by a section of the PSG support who see him as a symbol of all Qatar-owned clubs. Play Investments, a subsidiary of the Gulf country’s sovereign wealth fund, has erred in focusing on superstar signings while failing to build a truly competitive team.
Messi has scored 20 goals in all competitions this season and is the leading assist provider in Ligue 1 with 15.
However, since leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, his form has declined along with most of PSG’s teams.
PSG’s dreary performance against Lorient was their sixth defeat in 17 Ligue 1 matches in 2023.
But they are five points clear of Marseille at the top of the table with five games remaining.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
