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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans have been left baffled by the Parisians' decision to leave Lionel Messi out of the starting XI to face Urawa Red Diamonds in their pre-season friendly.
PSG are currently preparing for their first season under new manager Christophe Galtier. The Ligue 1 champions flew to Japan following a 2-0 win against French second-tier club US Quevilly-Rouen Metropole last week.
Galtier and Co. kicked off their pre-season tour of Japan with a 2-1 victory over Kawasaki Frontale earlier this week. Starring in the match for the Parisians was Messi, who opened the scoring for the club on the day.
Despite his goalscoring performance against Kawasaki, Messi has missed out on a starting XI spot for the club's friendly against the Urawa Reds today (July 23). The 35-year-old and Neymar have been left on the bench, with Pablo Sarabia and Maurco Icardi taking their place in the lineup.
PSG fans, though, are disappointed to see Messi not starting the match against the Urawa Reds. Some have even taken to social media to express their frustration about the Argentinean icon's exclusion. Here are the best tweets about the same:
One fan wrote on Twitter:
"Overall it’s quite odd that PSG seem to be fielding the second team but Verratti and Mbappe are still in there. Why wouldn’t you field the team you intend to play with during the season if everyone is gonna play anyways?"
Lionel Messi was replaced by Icardi after the one-hour mark against Kawasaki on Wednesday. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner will likely come on to play 30 to 45 minutes against the Urawa Reds today.
When do PSG and Lionel Messi kick off their 2022-23 season?
Galtier's side have another friendly scheduled against Gamba Osaka following their match against the Usawa Reds. They will fly back to France after the game against the J1 League outfit on Monday.
The Parisians will then take on Nantes in the Trophee des Champions on July 31. They are scheduled to kick off their Ligue 1 campaign against Clermont Foot on August 6.
Lionel Messi will be looking to enjoy a successful season with PSG after enduring a difficult debut campaign in France. He joined the Ligue 1 giants on a free transfer from Barcelona last summer, but struggled to hit the ground running.
The forward scored 11 goals and provided 15 assists from 34 appearances across all competitions for the French club last term. He will be keen to add to his contributions next season. Messi helped PSG reclaim the Ligue 1 title, but the club faltered in the Champions League. Yet another failure in Europe prompted the club to fire manager Mauricio Pochettino and sporting director Leonardo.
