Perhaps Lionel Messi's first goal in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt, which shook the net against Manchester City on Tuesday, did not create as much of a stir as another moment featuring the Argentine star during the same match. Messi scored his team's second goal, deemed "historic" by observers since it was his first goal for a club other than Barcelona, where he entered as a youth 18 years ago and left in tears just weeks ago in a transfer that rocked the football world.
However, the historical value of the goal, or even its "actual" significance during the match that ended with PSG winning 2-0, was overshadowed by the moment of the "human wall." During PSG's attempt to keep a clean sheet with a free kick in stoppage time of the second half, Messi rushed, unlike anyone else, to lie on the ground behind the defensive wall to prevent any cunning low shots from passing under the defenders' feet as they jumped up.
This defensive method has become common in recent years, with coaches designating a specific player to lie down and protect the goal with their body against free kicks. This method first appeared in South American fields before making its way to Europe and now to the most prestigious club tournaments in the world.
However, European and American pitches have certainly not witnessed a star of Messi's name, history, and value—winner of six Ballon d'Or awards—lying on the grass to perform such an "annoying" task.
During Tuesday's match, Messi undoubtedly became, according to ESPN, the greatest player to do so in the history of football. The famous American sports site questioned why Messi was specifically chosen to perform this task, noting, for example, that Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi's long-time rival and competitor, had never found himself in such a position.
It was clear that seeing Messi on the ground surprised many, including his teammate Neymar, who could not hide his astonishment at what was happening and at seeing Messi lying beneath him. The Brazilian star resorted to Instagram, where he mocked the scene by posting a picture and captioning it with, "What are you doing there, Lionel?"
Critics were no less astonished; even former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand criticized what he considered "disrespect" by placing Messi in such a position. Ferdinand opined that PSG players should have kept Messi out of that scenario by having someone else lie down instead.
He said, "The moment (PSG coach) Mauricio Pochettino asked Messi to do that during training, someone should have intervened and said no... no... no... no." He added, "This doesn't happen to a player like Messi… no... no... no... you can't do that. It's disrespectful (...) If I were in that team, I would have told him: listen... I'm going to lie down instead of you."
Confusion prevailed across social media as many tried to understand the significance and reason behind what happened and why Messi was specifically used as a human barrier on the ground.
There were sarcastic comments attempting to imagine what Messi felt in "that position," while others pointed out the irony between his defensive role and being a gifted star known for the cunning shots that have perhaps challenged hundreds of defenders and goalkeepers to contend with.
While some mischievously questioned whether this was an attempt by coach Pochettino to assert Messi's place in his new club as just another player who performs any assigned role, others did not hide their admiration for what the Argentine star did, willingly or unwillingly accepting to execute the "dirty work" regardless of his name, history, or any other considerations.
