The two seasons that Lionel Messi has spent with Paris Saint-Germain have been a disɑster considering the capital club fell in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
After his hat-trick against Curacao, the achievement that helped Lionel Messi surpass the 100-goal mark for Argentina, was a 0-1 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain’s Lyon, a result that shows the contrast that exists between the worlds. of Messi for the club and for the national team.
Argentina’s Messi and PSG’s Messi are a stark contrast
However, during his time with the French giants, the 35-year-old lifted the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the Argentina national team in Qatar last December. Prime Video analyst Thierry Henry explained why Messi is successful with his national team and not PSG.
“It’s not easy to lead the orchestra with three conductors,” Henry said (h/t RMC Sport). “ In Argentina, he’s the boss. You see how the players look at him. They could dιe for him . When Leo feels that, he’s unplayable. Here it’s different. ”
In Argentina, Messi is the center and every player is ready to fιght for Messi
Sunday night started uncomfortably for Messi and didn’t get any better. His name has received whistles from a section of PSG fans. More than once this season, Messi was opposed by the home team’s fans.
Uncertainty about El Pulga’s future in the French capital helps explain that misfortune. Messi’s contract expires in the summer of 2023 and talks about extending it over the winter have yet to come to a final agreement.
Thierry Henry said he wants Messi to end his career at Barcelona:
“For the love of football, Messi didn’t leave the way he needed to. I’m happy to see Messi in Ligue 1. The whistles don’t help. 13 assists, 13 goals (from 24 appearances in Ligue 1). We are talking about the best player in the world.”
However, Messi didn’t look like the best player in the world at the Parc des Princes having lost the ball 26 times. Notably, many other PSG stars are even worse. Kylian Mbappe lost the ball 21 times and could have disappeared in the second half. The rest of the team seemed to lazily play, making almost no effort on the equalizer.
Both Messi and Mbappe did not play well but only Messi was booed
Speaking about the team and the number 30 being ridiculed, Galtier expressed:
“It was hard to hear the whistle. There may be expectations for Messi and Mbappe to deal with difficult situations. Messi tried hard, they didn’t succeed, but around him, other players need to do theirs too.”
“Messi has tried different things by launching some passes in situations. There were some technical errors in his connection style. The whistles were difficult to hear because he was dedicated. too much when it comes to goals and assists.”
Meeting Lyon is Messi’s 50th appearance in Ligue 1. Messi has contributed to 46 goals in 50 matches. Only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (57) and Neymar (72) have been involved in more goals in their first 50 games at PSG.
Messi’s contributions to PSG are remarkable, but it’s all Galtier’s players that matter
But the messy nature of Messi’s performance was inevitable despite his recent significant contributions. Messi doesn’t seem to fit in perfectly with the team or at his ‘home’ in Paris.
PSG have not paid the price after the defeat against Lyon because the team chasing them, Marseille, fell when losing to Montpellier. Warnings about losing the title are not clear because Christophe Galtier and players are still 6 points ahead of the 2nd ranked team.
But Messi’s situation at the club is indeed more difficult. Messi, who quickly exited the tunnel after the final whistle, was certainly upset about everything that had happened. Can the star born in 1987 find another motivation to play football in Paris? Or will he try to find a new destination in Spain, or elsewhere?
In the latest performance against Lyon, Messi’s flame of dedication to PSG seems to be dying out.
Messi reportedly wants to stay in Europe to compete in the UEFA Champions League since he hasn’t won the trophy in nearly 10 years, with his last triumph coming in 2015.
However, with his pending free-agent status, the Argentine might have attempted this accomplishment elsewhere. FC Barcelona remains in the mix, but it will all depend on their financial situation.
As for PSG, they want the veteran goal scorer to lower his wage demands, but Messi isn’t reportedly keen on taking a pay cut. If Messi intends to continue in Europe, these next few months will be interesting to see where he ends up signing.