Former PSG striker Jerome Rothen shares his opinion on why Lionel Messi does not deserve a contract extension

Lionel Messi is in contract talks with Paris Saint Germain as the Argentine sensation’s current contract expires at the end of the season. The Parisians are looking to trigger the one year extension present in the contract but there are reports suggesting that they aren’t looking to keep Messi for a longer spell.

Former PSG striker Jerome Rothen has urged the club not to renew Lionel Messi’s contract as he feels that the Argentine’s salary will be enough to improve the squad and make it more future proof. He also feels that managing the trio of Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi is going to be complicated.

Speaking tol RMC Sport, Rothen is pretty sure on his stance of allowing Messi to leave considering his high wage demands and also wants to look towards the club’s future and keep hold of two of the three star players present at the moment. Overall he believes keeping hold of all three will be problematic for the French outfit.

“Managing the three is complicated,” said Rothen. “After that, there is the wage bill. And we saw that PSG is blocked with the financial fair play. Because the wage bill has exploded. There, you have the opportunity to recover a large amount of money because the salary of Messi is substantial. It can allow you to recruit and improve your squad. For all that, it’s a very bad idea to extend Leo Messi.”

Rothen has never shied away from taking shots at Lionel Messi due to his below par opening year in Ligue 1. The former striker criticizes the Argentine for not being able to adapt to new circumstances as it is almost a year now. He feels that adaptability should come more naturally for someone who has won it all and is the best player in the world.

“He’s had a disgusting year, at every level. It is good that he expresses himself. You can have extenuating circumstances, he comes from Barcelona, where he was from a very young age. The concern for adaptation can happen to all players. But we are talking about the best player on the football planet. It would not be understandable that the adaptation would take more than a year,” Rothen shared in his criticism of Messi at PSG.

Messi managed to score only six league goals in his debut season for PSG but this season he has improved it by netting 10 times in Ligue 1 in only 18 appearances. While last season also he had 14 assists, this time he already has mustered 10 and will be coming up with more in the coming league games. PSG are leading the Ligue 1 points table by eight points and are gearing up for a tough round of 16 clash in the Champions League against Bayern Munich.