Paris Saint-Germain arrive at the Club World Cup as the freshly crowned champions of Europe, but their upcoming clash with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the round of 16 this Sunday stirs memories of less fortunate times for the French side.
PSG’s remarkable 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in Munich last month secured their first UEFA Champions League title, capping off a phenomenal season for the Qatar-backed team under the leadership of Luis Enrique.
It’s no coincidence that PSG found success in their inaugural season after shifting their strategy from acquiring superstar players to empowering an exceptional coach to develop a motivated and youthful squad.
The departure of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid a year ago, along with the exits of Neymar, the most expensive player in history following his 2017 transfer, and Messi in the summer of Luis Enrique’s appointment in 2023, marked a significant transition.
When PSG seized the opportunity in August 2021 to sign Messi after a financially struggling Barcelona could no longer afford to keep him, they hoped the Argentine would finally deliver the long-sought Champions League triumph.
At that juncture, Messi was 34 and shared the same hopes.
“My dream is to win another Champions League, and I believe I am in the perfect place to achieve that,” he remarked at his unveiling.
Regrettably, Messi’s time at PSG did not unfold as anticipated during his initial season under compatriot Mauricio Pochettino in 2021/22 or in the subsequent campaign under Christophe Galtier.
Prior to Messi’s arrival, PSG had reached the Champions League final and the semi-finals in the two seasons leading up to his signing, making him appear to be the missing piece of the puzzle.
Instead, the club faltered, exiting Europe’s elite competition in the Round of 16 two years in a row.
Unresolved Tensions
The challenge of integrating Messi – with his staggering annual salary of €30 million after tax – alongside Neymar and Mbappé may have enhanced the team’s star power but ultimately weakened its overall cohesion.
By the end of his tenure, Messi was even met with jeers from sections of the PSG support, who questioned his commitment to the club.
Despite being a PSG player when he played a pivotal role in Argentina’s World Cup victory in Qatar in late 2022, his club performances were marked by only occasional flashes of brilliance.
His statistics are impressive, featuring 32 goals and 35 assists in 75 appearances, and he earned two Ligue 1 titles while helping to bolster PSG’s brand value.
However, one particularly cutting remark from a columnist at French sports daily L’Équipe encapsulated the sentiment:
“PSG have not improved with him; it was as if he had the same enthusiasm for playing in Ligue 1 as for attending a dentist appointment,” wrote Vincent Duluc.
Fast forward two years and Messi is now enjoying the twilight of his career in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, a team he has guided to the knockout stages of this Club World Cup.
This has set the stage for a round of 16 encounter with PSG on Sunday in Atlanta, at the same venue where he recently scored a stunning free-kick to secure a 2-1 victory over Porto.
On Friday, L’Équipe’s front page read, “All is not forgiven,” echoing the feelings of “failure and bitterness” that linger in the wake of Messi’s time in Paris.
Miami coach Javier Mascherano believes that the unhappy memories from Messi’s time in Paris may ignite his performance.
“It’s clear that it benefits us when he plays with a chip on his shoulder, as he’s the type of player who always puts in that extra effort when motivated,” Mascherano told ESPN.
With Luis Enrique and PSG harbouring grand ambitions of adding a world title to their European accolades, the potential for Messi – just days after celebrating his 38th birthday – to eliminate them on Sunday would only add to the bitterness.
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Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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