Messi’s relation with PSG fans cracked
Lionel Messi’s relation with PSG fans cracked, as the fans did not treat him nicely, he said in an interview. Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina in December, left PSG at the end of last season after two years and has joined Inter Miami.
In the second half of last season, Messi was repeatedly booed and PSG had to increase security around his house.
“I think in the beginning it was something wonderful,” said Messi. “It happened just as it had happened before with Mbappe, with Neymar. I know that’s the way they behave.
“I’ll take away with me the people who respected me, as I always respected everyone since I arrived and that’s all.”
Messi said he did not know if Argentina beating France in FIFA cup was a factor, he was being hurt after being suspended for an Unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia during the final match for Ligue 1 champions.
In a wide-ranging interview, Messi also said he found it “very difficult” to adapt to life in Paris on and off the pitch following his 2021 move from Barcelona, having missed pre-season and then later having a month out mid-season with Covid. Ilkay Gundagon have moved to Barcelona on free transfer on summer transfers
In contrast, he said he felt “very comfortable” at the start of his second season at Parc des Princes but the mid-season winter World Cup “affected the whole season for everyone”. Sergio Busquets had joined Inter Miami following his fellow mate Lionel Messi.
Messi statement over his career
In May, he broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the most goals scored in Europe’s top five leagues and, to date, has scored a combined 807 goals for club and country.
“I have nothing left to achieve, I’ve achieved everything,” he said.
However, Messi said his individual achievements were secondary to those won with his teams, though he did concede they were “nice recognitions”.
“I achieved the most important goal I had, which was to win the World Cup with my national team and it was something extraordinary, the way everything happened,” he said.
“I never thought about individual awards and I never gave them more importance than the collective awards.
“To have achieved the objectives with the Argentina national team and to have achieved everything at an individual level, at a team level, for me it is to close an extraordinary career.”
Messi journey over his Career
Lionel Messi spent the majority of his career with Barcelona, scoring a total of 672 goals in 778 games across competitions. Since joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, Messi has scored a total of 27 goals in 61 games. That brings up his tally to 699 goals in 839 games. With PSG next set to face Marseille in the Ligue 1, the Argentine will have his eyes set on the illustrious landmark.
If Messi scores against Marseille, he would become only the second footballer in history to score 700 or more goals in club football, Cristiano Ronaldo (more than 800 club goals) being the other one
In the last match for PSG, Messi scored a dramatic 95th-minute free-kick to give his side a 4-3 win over Lille in an extraordinary Ligue 1 game in which Kylian Mbappe scored twice but Neymar was taken off on a stretcher with an ankle injury.
Messi’s last-gasp winner came after PSG had squandered a two-goal lead and fallen 3-2 behind, with Mbappe grabbing a late equaliser before the Argentine’s stunning strike.
The result ends a run of three straight defeats for PSG and ensures they end the weekend as they started it, five points clear of second-placed Marseille, who won 3-2 at Toulouse and host the Parisians next.
That was his 27th goal this season in all competitions, but it was not the end of the drama as Messi won a free-kick when he was fouled just outside the area by Benjamin Andre.
