Al Khelaifi responds to Messi's dig: With all due respect PSG are a French club
The Argentine complained about how little they celebrated his World Cup glory
The Messi-PSG relationship continues to be the talk of the town months after his departure. The Argentine aimed another dig at the Parisian club a few days ago when he complained that he had been «the only player who had not been recognized, apart from my 25 other players» after returning from winning the World Cup in Qatar.
A few days later, PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi responded to the Argentine in statements to French media ahead of Sunday's derby against Marseille. «Outside there is a lot of talk, I don't know what he did or what he didn't say. As everyone saw we even published a video, we congratulated Messi in training, and also in private, but with respect we are a French club,» the president stated bluntly.
The PSG chief explained that they could not have a big party out of respect «for the country he defeated, for his French teammates in the team and for our supporters,» he said. «It was delicate to have the party in the stadium.»
Al Khelaifi also spoke about the current relationship with Kylian Mbappe after such an eventful summer in which the player was even left out of the squad without traveling to the pre-season tour of Japan. «The problems we have had stay in the family and Kylian is part of the family. I am proud of what he is doing and what the whole team is doing,» he said.
He also called for the Ballon d'Or for the young Parisian, whom he described as «the best player in the world».
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