Inter Miami star and Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has made it no secret that he was not particularly happy at Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine genius started off his second season at the Parc des Princes in brilliant form, but following the World Cup, things began to go wrong. Messi has his theory on why.
In an interview with Olga en vivo, Messi revealed that he was sufficiently content with his colleagues, despite rumours of a power struggle with Neymar Junior and Kylian Mbappe. Sport carried his comments.
“It wasn’t as I expected. Things always happen for a reason. Even though I wasn’t doing well there, I got to be world champion.”
In terms of his relations with Mbappe and company, Messi claimed he was “great with everyone.”
However he feels the fact Argentina beat France in the final of the World Cup had an impact on a poor second half of the season for PSG.
“I was in the place against who we had won the final and, to quote, ‘because of us’, they had not been world champions, it was understandable.”
“I was the only player who didn’t get the recognition, apart from the other 25 players there [at the World Cup].”
Messi perhaps never hit the heights in the big games at PSG, failing to improve their disappointing Champions League form. No doubt he was not at his best in those matches. Equally, PSG have not found a way to have success in the Champions League aside from the one-legged ties in the pandemic season with or without Messi. It could be argued that Messi’s presence and subsequent struggles were only further evidence of the dysfunction in Paris.
