'He won against Kylian Mbappe' - Nasser Al-Khelaifi finally explains why Lionel Messi wasn't allowed to parade World Cup trophy at PSG home stadium

Messi won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 but was not allowed to parade the trophy on the Parc des Princes pitch after his return to France, seemingly due to a fear of a backlash from fans. Of course, Argentina beat Les Bleus in the final and Al-Khelaifi has now revealed that he could not allow Messi to celebrate at Parc des Princes because his PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe was on the losing side.

During an interview with RMC TV, Al-Khelaifi said: "For me, like I said, if anyone talks about the fact that we didn't celebrate him enough after he won the World Cup, we're in France and he won against Kylian. We are a French club. I don't want the whole stadium to be against him either. I think we have to respect that."

Messi's time in the French capital ended on a sour note, as he was booed by fans before his move to Inter Miami, and he has recognised that he caused a "rift" among the PSG fanbase. However, Al-Khelaifi has claimed that the World Cup winner does not "respect" the club, insisting he should not be speaking about them following his exit.

Messi is currently waiting for the resumption of club football in the United States. Inter Miami face FC Dallas in a friendly on January 22nd, before heading to the Middle East for the Riyadh Cup, which will see Messi face his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr.