“You always criticise me” – Antonio Cassano reveals what Mauricio Pochettino told him ahead of meeting Lionel Messi

Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino met Antonio Cassano after match against St. Etienne
Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino met Antonio Cassano after match against St. Etienne

Antonio Cassano has revealed that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager Mauricio Pochettino complained about his criticism of the Argentine manager ahead of a meeting with Lionel Messi. Cassano revealed that the incident happened when he went to watch PSG's home game against St. Etienne in Italy.

The former Italy striker also shared details about his meeting in the team tunnel with former Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. Antonio Cassano shared a short video of his interaction with Messi on his Instagram page.

He revealed excerpts of his conversations with Pochettino and Messi on his show for Bobo TV, with Vieri, Adani and Ventola as fellow hosts. Speaking about his trip to Italy and his meeting with the PSG manager and Messi, he said:

“At some point, Leonardo went inside the dressing room to tell Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé that I was there. However, the first one to come out was [Mauricio] Pochettino. He said: ‘Antonio, say hello to all the guys, Bobo, Lele, Ventola. I always follow you. But Antonio, you always criticise me.''

Antonio Cassano also revealed his blunt response to Pochettino, highlighting his success at Tottenham Hotspur but a rather subdued managerial outing for PSG. He added:

“I was like: ‘Mauricio, we’ve always talked about your spectacular job at Tottenham, this is out of the question. Here, you didn’t do well. What are we supposed to say? We spoke for a little while and I asked him: ‘Who do you think is the best coach?’ Pochettino said: ‘The one who has just been sacked,’ referring to Marcelo Bielsa.''

The Italian international had highlighted earlier that Mauricio Pochettino won't last long at Paris Saint-Germain. Antonio Cassano believes Pochettino has failed to earn the trust of the owners of the French club who are desperate to lift the Champions League trophy.


Video compilation of Lionel Messi's assists at PSG

Speaking of Lionel Messi, his fans have shared a video compilation of his magical assists at PSG across different competitions in his first season. The video shows numerous goal scoring chances created by the former Barcelona superstar, despite continuous criticism from football pundits.

The Argentine international left his parent club in Spain to join the Ligue 1 giants ahead of the 2021-22 season. As far as Messi's stats this season are concerned, so far, the 34-year-old has managed to score just two goals in Ligue 1 and has provided 10 assists. However, Messi has been a consistent performer for the French club in the Champions League, scoring five goals in six matches.

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Edited by Akshay Saraswat