600,000 people unfollowed Paris Saint-Germain on Instagram after Lionel Messi left the club

Lionel Messi's decision to leave Paris Saint-Germain has had a huge knock on effect for the Ligue 1 giants after they lost a huge number of followers on social media.

After two years of relative mediocrity for Messi's ridiculously high standards, the 35-year-old revealed in midweek that he'd be leaving PSG at the end of the season.

After months of being booed and speculation linking him to a return to Barcelona or following Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia it really came as no surprise.

And the end came on Saturday night, as Christophe Galtier's side ended their season with a loss at home to Clermont Foot, having been 2-0 up.

The seven time Ballon d'Or winner was met with one final round of booing during the game, after missing a sitter when the sides were locked at 2-2.

It was perhaps no surprise that he was left smiling at the end of the game as he left the pitch at the Parc des Princes for one final time as a home player.

Whilst he's not sticking around in the French capital it seems that his legion of fan boys aren't either, with the club's Instagram account taking a hit.

According to one fan's research on Reddit, the Ligue 1 champions have already lost over 600,000 followers on social media just across the weekend.

PSG's social media numbers show a huge drop off since Messi's last ended. Image: Alamy

There is very little doubt how much of a social media 'influencer' that the former Barcelona star is, even without being a try hard like the rest of them.

The forward's picture of him celebrating the World Cup victory last December ended up being the most liked post in Instagram history, overtaking a very famous egg.

He nearly beat his own record a day later when he posted a second picture alongside the trophy, this time posing with it as he lay in his bed.

People on social media weren't the only fanboys reacting to Messi's departure from the Parc des Princes, with Kylian Mbappe also 'fanboying' over his soon to be former teammate.

There was some discussion that Mbappe could follow the Argentinian out of the club in the summer but he has announced he'll be there for another year.

Some would have expected him to be a candidate to replace Karim Benzema at Real Madrid, after the announcement the forward is leaving this summer.

Topics: Football, Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1, Lionel Messi

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

@Sidler28