Lionel Messi's move to PSG never felt right and ends sadly amid whistles and boos from fans
Lionel Messi's move to PSG never felt right and ends sadly amid whistles and boos from fans
The Argentine attacker did not want to leave Barcelona in 2021 and the transfer has not worked out as planned for the player or the club. Now that he has gone, they may wonder what might have been...
Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain never felt right. The Argentine attacker was reduced to tears when he was told he had to leave Barcelona in 2021. Not because they did not want him, but because they could not afford to keep him. Days later, he stood and waved to PSG fans as he was presented amid much fanfare by the Parisian club. But it hasn’t worked out and now it’s over.
Messi signed a two-year contract with PSG, with the option of a third season. But it has been known for a while that he would not be extending his time at the Parc des Princes and coach Christophe Galtier announced last week that Saturday’s game against Clermont Foot would be his last for the club.
Ahead of the match, that was officially confirmed in a short statement by PSG. “Paris Saint-Germain is proud to have had the greatest footballer of all time within its ranks and, with some emotion, wishes Leo many more successes for the rest of his career,” they said. In another article, they called him a PSG legend.
He was rarely treated like one. In Sunday’s game against Clermont, Messi was whistled by PSG fans after missing a chance at 2-2. And after the game, which they lost 3-2 despite taking earlier leading 2-0, he was booed by the ultras as he emerged for the team’s Ligue 1 celebrations.
Messi leaves PSG as a two-time Ligue 1 winner, but he was unable to take the club to the next level in the Champions League as they exited in the last 16 in both of his seasons at the Parc des Princes. He scored 32 goals in 75 appearances overall, including 21 in 41 in a much-improved second season, and finished as the top assist provider in Ligue 1 this term.
“Leo is football,” Galtier said recently. “It’s true. I have seen it every day in training, I’ve also seen it in our matches. This year, he has great statistics. It is already much, much better than last season. I think Leo has had a very good season with PSG, but people still expect a lot more from him.” In reality, they probably expected a lot more from the team, too.
While the Argentine was drawing a line under those turbulent two seasons at PSG on Saturday, BBC One aired a documentary on the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. Lionel Messi: Destiny relived the 35-year-old’s career-defining World Cup win with Argentina at Qatar 2022 last Decemeber.
Looking back on his time at PSG, that was the highlight. The most memorable moment of Messi’s two-year spell in Paris was something he had achieved with his national team, not the club. Likewise, his Ballon d’Or win in 2021 had been earned largely for his Copa América success with Argentina and also his form at Barcelona – even though he was a PSG player when he lifted the prize for a seventh time.
Perhaps that is why some of the fans are annoyed. They had this player, the greatest of all time, yet they did not see enough of his best in their shirt. Or they did not make the most of it. So often, team-mates would waste his passes or lose the ball after he had created openings. They did not appear to be on the same wavelength.
Meanwhile, he was criticised for a perceived lack of effort and defensive application, for walking on the pitch, for supposedly not caring. Yet this is the way Messi has played for his entire career: he conserves his energy and springs into life with short bursts of brilliance. And he definitely does care.
In the BBC documentary, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni spoke of how his number one priority was to give Messi the tools to shine. He made Messi comfortable, filled the midfield with younger players who would work for him and give him the ball. The results are there for all to see: a World Cup win and immortality in his homeland.
At PSG, that was always going to be more difficult. The main man in Paris was Kylian Mbappé, not Messi, yet it could have worked with a better tactical plan and more quality in midfield. Dressing room harmony, too. The BBC documentary highlighted the importance of bonding and togetherness in Argentina’s win. There is little of that at the Parc des Princes, with persistent reports of player power, bickering over who should take the penalties and arguments between the sporting director and the coach just some of the issues at the club this season.
Paris always seemed like a marriage of convenience: an attractive city, a wealthy club. It was not Barcelona, but nowhere would be. Perhaps a different destination would have been better, even if not many clubs could afford to sign Messi. Manchester City were one of those, but they quickly ruled out his arrival after the news broke that he would be leaving Barça in 2021.
The Premier League champions had previously been interested, but had already spent £100 million on Jack Grealish and were restricted by Financial Fair Play regulations. And while it is difficult to imagine Leo in Manchester, it surely would have been a much more harmonious move.
City, like PSG, have faced scrutiny and criticism for essentially operating as state-sponsored clubs. Both have been accused of FFP irregularities. of manipulating the transfer market, of financial doping. Yet there are big differences in how the two teams function.
Manchester City are brilliantly run and superbly coached by Pep Guardiola, the man who helped Messi’s career to take off in the first place, and are now on the verge of a historic treble. That is what PSG were hoping to achieve with Leo’s arrival, but the Parisians are nowhwere near winning the Champions League and their run to the final in 2020 came courtesy of a favourable draw and an atypical format, with no fans in the stadiums due to Covid-19 and all the matches from the quarter-finals onwards played in one-off ties in Lisbon.
Messi’s last Barcelona game in the Champions League was a draw against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, which followed a 4-1 loss at Camp Nou. Now he could return to the Catalan club, though Barça’s precarious financial situation makes that move complicated. If he does go back, the outpouring of love from fans might make PSG a bit envious. He was their player for two whole seasons, but somehow it never really felt like it. He was so often made the scapegoat for their troubles, even by the French media, and they definitely didn’t do enough to make it work. Now that he has gone, they may just wonder what might have been.
He will feel at home in Miami :-))
Aptly captured, just as usual. With Messi's departure Neymar might equally be on his way out. PSG is 'badly' run. Like how does one explain that they have all the money but can't get a world class coach? Midfield ? Very pathetic.
You don't make a player who us arguably the greatest ever footballer to play the game a second fiddle all in the name to prove your love for Mbappe. No, it doesn't work that way. PSG fans? Definitely the worst fanbase ever.