Lionel Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer window when his contract with Barcelona expired and it became clear the Catalan club, fallen upon hard times, couldn’t afford to renew it.
The Argentine is considered by many to be the greatest player to have ever played the game so his departure from Barcelona and arrival in France caused quite the stir.
Things haven’t worked out exactly how he would have expected. He hasn’t played badly; he’s provided two goals and nine assists in Ligue 1 as well as five goals in the Champions League.
But he hasn’t led the team and dazzled as he was expected to. Neither has Neymar Junior, his old teammate from Barcelona. The man proving most decisive for PSG has been Kylian Mbappe, most notably in last week’s Champions League clash with Real Madrid.
Mbappe scored a late, late winner to set up a tantalising second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on March ninth. Speaking in comments carried by Marca, Messi reflected on his time so far with PSG and what the rest of the season holds for him.
“PSG is a club that’s growing, that has ambition and a lot of desire to continue growing,” the Argentine said. “There’s a lot of room to grow and also the power to do so. It’s among the greatest clubs in the world and it’s developing and getting bigger. It has nothing to envy of the historically great clubs.
“But winning the Champions League is complicated. It’s a competition where the very best are, and you can get knocked out due to the smallest details. So many great clubs and teams compete, but we have a team capable of winning it.
“We’re excited and we’re able to do it, but we have to go calmly. The best team doesn’t always win the Champions League and you have to pay attention to all the small details. The strong teams are the ones that achieve their goals.”
