It was the 89th minute when Idrissa Gueye fouled Ryan Mahrez outside the penalty box, before he was substituted. The Algerian was preparing to take the free kick himself, while the likes of Neymar, Marquinhos and other were forming the wall. Right there, under their feet was Lionel Messi, one of the best players in the world, a six time Ballons d’Or winner and their newest transfer signing. Surely, a professional gesture from the Argentinian, but was it a rational one?Lionel Messi lying down behind the wall on free-kicks?! Rio Ferdinand: “You can’t! It’s disrespectful!.”If I was in that team I’d say listen, nah, nah, nah, I’ll lay down for you!” pic.twitter.com/SkjgQiHoDu— Enock Essel Niccolo Makaville (@EsselKobina39) September 28, 2021 Former Manchester United players, and now TV pundits Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves were shocked, probably as the most of PSG fans, as it was quite logical for somebody else to do the dirty job, and not the most valuable player on the pitch. And the Englishman were also surprised that none of his teammates decided to lay down instead of him.“The moment Mauricio Pochettino asked him to do that at the training ground someone should have gone in there and said “no, no, no, no, this doesn’t happen to Leo Messi. You can’t. It’s disrespectful, I wouldn’t have it. If I was in that team I’d say “no, I’ll lay down for you”. I couldn’t have him laying down like that. I can’t see it. He don’t get his kit dirty. That’s not what Messi does” said Ferdinand.PLAYER RATINGS: Mbappe’s supporting role crucial for PSG winAnd what about Messi’s boss? Maurcio Pochettino was not bothered about the situation with the wall, as he was busy celebrating Leo’s first goal for PSG. It was also a relief for the coach, after he substituted his fellow Argentinian against Lyon, causing more controversy.“Usually I don’t celebrate goals, but today I did. I’ve spent 20 years watching him score goals from the other side of the opposite pavement and it’s the first time he scores for a team I manage so I had to celebrate. You need this type of performance and players like him need to feel the back of the net. He needs to create links within the team after 20 years in Barcelona. He’s feeling different things, there’s a lot of new feelings for him. First goal in our side, now that we are in the same side I enjoyed a lot and so happy to be here enjoying Leo’s first goal. He’s top class, I know I’m not saying anything new but I think with time he still has room to improve a lot” said the Argentinian.
