Lionel Messi furious at ‘unfair’ criticism over PSG form amid claims he ‘offers nothing’ after only two Ligue 1 goals

LIONEL MESSI is angry with the criticism he has been receiving in his debut season at Paris Saint-Germain, reports suggest.

According to Le Parisien, Messi has confided with senior PSG team-mates in the dressing room regarding what he considers to be unfair scrutiny from the French press.

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The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has been experiencing a turbulent campaign ever since he ended his glittering 17-year stint at Barcelona and moved to Paris last summer.

The star forward amassed a staggering total of 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 matches for Barca.

But the Argentina international has only managed a mere two goals in 16 Ligue 1 matches for PSG so far.

The 34-year-old also came up short in the Champions League Last-16 first leg against Real Madrid at the Parc des Princes as he missed a penalty and was outshined by team-mate Kylian Mbappe.

That led to L'Equipe rating him with a poor 3/10, while ex-PSG ace Jerome Rothen claimed he "offers nothing".

That led to further criticism from French media, even though Messi had no pre-season, dealt with injury and has registered seven goals and 11 assists in 23 matches across all competitions.

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Several former team-mates have leapt to the Argentine talisman's defence, such as former Arsenal and Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas who played with him in Barcelona.

Fabregas recently told Mundo Deportivo: "I've read things about people who shouldn't have seen him play against Real Madrid. Without being stellar, he played a good game.

"He missed a penalty. And that? Judging him for that seems ridiculous to me. Football goes much further. [Real star Thibaut] Courtois is a fantastic goalkeeper and he has merit.

"Messi is happy when he wins, when he scores and when he manages to be decisive. That's why he has been who he is for 15 years.

"The most similar to him is Cristiano Ronaldo, but I have not seen anyone like him."

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