Messi: World Cup Winner Comes Under Heavy Criticism From French Media After PSG Loss

• Lionel Messi has been slammed following his underwhelming performance in PSG's defeat to Rennes.
• PSG stumbled to their second successive loss since the start of the new year.
• Messi will hope to find his mojo quickly ahead of a Champions League last-16 showdown with Bayern Munich just a month away.

Lionel Messi came under heavy criticism following Paris Saint-Germain's shock defeat to Rennes last Sunday.

This was the first time that Mbappe, Messi and Neymar had appeared on the pitch together since PSG's superstar attacking trio returned from the World Cup.

It proved to be a case of much ado about nothing as none of PSG's dreaded trio shone against Rennes.

Neither Messi nor Neymar nor Kylian Mbappe could prevent PSG from falling to their second successive away loss in 2023, per GFFN.

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The defeat has birthed a chain of criticism against the PSG's stars with Messi coming under more scrutiny, perhaps for his role in denying France back-to-back World Cup titles.

French media criticizes Messi

Below is the assessment by some of the French outlets as collated by MARCA:

"He had half a good season because he was preparing for the World Cup, he was training, but now that's over," was the take on RMC Sport.

French newspaper L'Equipe stated that the World Cup winner was not up to the task and even gave him a match rating of four out of 10.

"We didn't see the extravagance of the ball at his feet that we are used to seeing," the paper stated.

"The Argentine tried to work for his team, mainly by recovering balls in his 30 meters, before collapsing in the second half."

Le Parisien were more conservative in their words, suggesting that Messi's impact on the match was "limited".

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PSG falls to unexpected defeat

Kylian Mbappe made his return from a post-World Cup holiday but Paris Saint-Germain went down 1-0 away to Rennes in Ligue 1 on Sunday, a result which leaves them just three points clear at the top of the table halfway through the season.

Rennes captain Hamari Traore scored the only goal of the game in the 65th minute in the rain in Brittany to condemn PSG to a second successive away league loss after they went down 3-1 at second-placed Lens on New Year's Day.

Prior to that, they had gone unbeaten through their first 23 matches this season in all competitions and this latest loss gives their rivals hope in the title race.

Neymar slammed for poor display

In related news, Sports Brief reported that Neymar has been receiving heavy backlash from Paris Saint-Germain supporters, after another underwhelming performance for the Ligue 1 champions.

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The Brazilian star was part of PSG's starting XI alongside Lionel Messi, as they lost their most recent league game to Rennes 1-0 on Sunday, sparking fans to turn on the Selecao star.

According to journalist, Daniel Riolo, the 30-year-old forward has failed to find his spark after the World Cup, and slammed Neymar’s transfer from Barcelona to the Parisians, Sportskeeda reports.