The cracks are already beginning to appear at Paris Saint-Germain, even though the Ligue Un giants continued their 100 percent domestic record thanks to Mauro Icardi’s late winner against Lyon.
With so many world-class stars now in the squad, Mauricio Pochettino has his hands full trying to keep them all happy.
After 75 minutes of Sunday’s game, the Argentine decided to substitute his countryman, Lionel Messi, with the game still poised at 1-1.
Former Barcelona stalwart, Messi, was clearly unhappy at the decision and refused to reciprocate when the manager offered his hand.
Sat on the bench, pictures would show the No.30 seething, and the coach will have to nip that in the bud for fear of his authority being called into question.
When asked by reporters why he hooked the Argentinian, Pochettino came up with a quite bizarre excuse.
“We made the decision to remove Leo Messi due to a possible injury in the future,” he was quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo.
¡OJO! ? Messi no le regresó el saludo a Pochettino cuando salió de cambio ?pic.twitter.com/fQy9TjwiFx
— Goal en español (@Goal_en_espanol) September 19, 2021
With so much of the season left to play, perhaps his caution was understandable, though it’s unlikely Messi saw it like that.