Cesc Fabregas defended his former Barcelona teammate, Lionel Messi, the French star of Paris Saint-Germain, after the Argentine star missed a penalty kick against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Messi was criticized after his lackluster performance in the first leg of the Champions League final against Real Madrid, where he missed a penalty kick that would have been enough if he scored it to change the course of the meeting, which was decided by Paris Saint-Germain with a single goal scored by Kylian Mbappe in the deadly seconds.
The French sports newspaper, L’Equipe, gave Messi a 3/10 rating for his performance in this match, while former Saint-Germain player Jerome Rothin considered that “The Flea” does nothing for the Parisian club.
“The fans come to see Messi play in Saint-Germain, but the player at the football level has done nothing for the club,” Rothin added in a press interview.
On the other hand, Cesc Fabregas defended his former Barcelona colleague in an interview with the newspaper “Mundo Deportivo”, in which he said: “I read many comments that talked about it was not necessary for Messi to participate against Real Madrid, without being fully prepared and ready to perform his best performance.” .
He added, “Messi, in my opinion, played a good match. It is true that he missed a penalty kick, but like that happens in the world of football.”
Fabregas praised Messi, saying: “Messi’s happiness lies in winning the matches he plays and scoring decisive goals. The most Messi-like player is Cristiano Ronaldo, but I have never seen a player like the Argentine star in my life.”
He continued, “Messi received criticism in the first year of Luis Enrique’s coaching era, then Barcelona won the treble. Now something similar can happen with his current club,” according to the British newspaper, “Mirror”.