Mauricio Pochettino made a “serious mistake” in substituting Lionel Messi during Paris Saint-Germain’s win over Lyon.
That’s the view of ex-PSG star Jerome Rothen, claiming that he may have already turned his best player away from him.
The Argentine, who is yet to score since his stunning move from Barcelona, was withdrawn with 15 minutes remaining of the Ligue 1 clash, with the scores locked at 1-1.
Messi looked dismayed at the decision and seemed to snub a handshake with his compatriot and new manager.
News has subsequently emerged that the forward picked up a knee injury during the game, but Rothen claims the manager is treating his newest superstar in a different way to his strike partners Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
"There was a total misunderstanding. We saw it, Lionel Messi wanted to stay on the pitch. Pochettino made his decision in his heart and conscience,” Rothen told RMC Sport.
"Where I find it completely inappropriate on the part of Pochettino, it's that he's never been like that with the other stars of the team.
"Since he arrived, whether it was Neymar or [Kylian] Mbappe, he always left them on the pitch, even when they were bad.
"He has always protected them unlike other players like [Angel] Di Maria, [Leandro] Paredes, [Mauro] Icardi.
"Then, Lionel Messi arrives, in terms of status and aura, Messi is much superior to Neymar and Mbappe.”
Rothen continued: "I don't know what he played. Did he want to mark his territory? I do not hope, because there, he is completely crazy. We do not cry genius there.
"You are going to put your best player on your back. It leaves traces, this kind of event. And the image is terrible. He made a serious mistake. Pochettino crashed there."
Pochettino looked to dispel any notions of a rift with Messi, explaining that the 34-year-old was holding his knee and needed to be taken off.
“In order to explain, on the sidelines we observe all the players and everything that is happening during games,” Pochettino explained. “We saw that Leo Messi was checking his knee and made some gestures. We saw that when he took a shot.
"I was pleased with his performance. He did very well in the first half. I am pleased with his commitment and performance. All that was missing was a goal.
"In his 75 minutes on the pitch - as I have explained - with all the information that we had, we made the decision to substitute him.
"Of course all top players want to be on the pitch at all times, that is understandable. I am calm about it."
Messi is now reportedly a doubt for the Champions League clash with Manchester City next week, with PSG confirming bruising on the bone in his left knee.
