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Former Barcelona star Arturo Vidal once launched a scathing attack on Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans for turning on Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. The Chilean midfielder called the Parisian fans 'crazy' while branding the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner 'the best in the world.'
In the summer of 2021, Messi joined PSG on a free transfer from Spanish giants Barcelona. He spent two seasons at the Parc des Princes, bagging 32 goals and 35 assists in 75 appearances.
Just hours after PSG's 3-1 defeat to Lorient on April 30, 2023, Messi controversially jetted off to Saudi Arabia. He was handed a two-week suspension by the club upon returning and apologized for the unauthorized trip during a crucial part of the season.
Four days after the Lorient game, PSG fans expressed their rage by singing chants filled with abuses aimed at the Argentina captain in front of the club headquarters.
At the time, Vidal had lambasted the PSG supporters, calling for them to applaud Messi instead of abusing him. He said (via Daily Post h/t TyC Sports):
"The thing about the PSG fans is crazy, these people are crazier every day. They can't insult the best in the world, watch him (Messi) play … Clearly, they were not given in the Champions League and the (French) Cup, but in the championship, he has been the best."
"A world champion, he is in almost all the matches; he never gets injured; he scored most of the goals with (Kylian) Mbappe, and most of the passes are from him. Crazy, crazy that they always attack the best, but that is football, and that is the way people are," Vidal added.
Vidal made 81 appearances alongside Messi at Barcelona. The Chilean enforcer assisted the Argentine maestro eight times and had the favor returned twice.
"No one injure him" - Arturo Vidal recalls instructions to his national teammates when facing Lionel Messi's Argentina
Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal recently claimed that he instructed his national teammates to try not to injure Lionel Messi whenever they faced off against Argentina.
In an interview with TNT Sports, the 37-year-old said (via MessiFCWorld on X):
"Every time I played against him in the national team, I would tell my friends, 'No one injure Messi, because he is my friend and we need him at Barcelona.'"
"One time, Messi dribbled past Vargas and it was possible to bring him down, but he left him. He told him, 'I have instructions from your friend, I do not want trouble with him.' He looked at me and smiled. He helped me a lot. I love him a lot and I am happy to play with the best player in the history of football," Vidal added.
Vidal's Chile and Messi's Argentina faced off in back-to-back Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016, with the former winning on penalties on both occasions.
