Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) president Nasser Al-Khelaifi explained why the French side did not celebrate Lionel Messi after his triumph at 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Unlike his fellow Argentine World champions, Messi did not receive a warm welcome when he was back in Paris after winning the World Cup with ‘Albiceleste’.

Many criticized PSG for not honouring their player and the eight-time Ballon d’or winner himself also bemoaned it.

With criticism still going, PSG president Al-Khelaifi broke his silence and gave the reason why the club decided not to give him a spectacular welcome on his return.

“Messi is the best player in history. It was challenging for him to transition from Barcelona and come here all of a sudden”, Al-Khelaifi told RMC Sport.

“I have a lot of respect for him. However, I don’t accept people speaking ill of Paris Saint-Germain. I want players to speak while they are at the club, not afterwards.”

“We did not celebrate Messi because he won the World Cup against France and he won it against Kylian, and because we are also a French club, so we did not celebrate him so that the fans would not whistle at him.”