Their relationship seemed to be at an impasse when Paris Saint-Germain supporters jeered Lionel Messi during last Sunday’s home loss to Lyon. (Also in Football)
Messi left Barcelona against his will in 2021 and signed a two-year contract with PSG, with an option for an additional year if both sides agreed. But, it seems that negotiations have fallen down, making Messi’s exit this summer all but certain.
PSG was expected to win the elusive Champions League trophy under his leadership, but instead, the team was eliminated in the round of 16 for two consecutive seasons.
Last season, when PSG was eliminated by Real Madrid, he was one of the players heckled. This season, despite having exceptional first-half performance, Messi’s form substantially decreased after Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar.
Messi’s defence came from PSG coach Christophe Galtier, who said that other players needed to step up.
After the Lyon match, Galtier commented, “You can’t ask Leo to accomplish everything.” The jeers are really severe. He is a player that consistently gives his all, and he did so throughout the first half of the season. But the others must likewise outperform themselves.
PSG has altogether lost eight games in 2023 since its diverse group of players returned from the World Cup.
Messi hasn’t performed as poorly as others have. Since PSG supporters seem to exclusively blame the Argentine star for the startling reversal, it’s possible that they believe the player’s prior success was only driven by his desire to win the World Cup, which he won as the competition’s best player.
Fans of PSG are also irritated at how seldom he visits them to congratulate them after games.
After PSG was ousted from the Champions League by Bayern Munich last month by a score of 3-0 on aggregate, Messi has become a faraway figure.
This is a look at where Messi, 35, would end up if the last nine French league games are his last ones in a PSG jersey.
RONALDO VS. MESSI: AGAIN?
The most intriguing player rivalry in the annals of modern football came to an end when Cristiano Ronaldo departed Real Madrid in 2018. He came to Juventus after years of battling Messi at Barcelona for dominance.
Ronaldo now competes for Al Nassr in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and there has been rising talk of Messi joining him there to play for Al Hilal, a rival club in the city that is supposedly willing to pay a record-breaking wage.
In an exhibition match against a combined XI from Al Nassr and Al Hilal in Riyadh in January, Messi faced off against Ronaldo for PSG.
Having Messi would raise Saudi Arabia’s football prominence even further as it gets set to host the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time in December. Ronaldo’s presence has already done this.
A BARCARA RETURN?
When the Spanish club dominated European football under renowned coach Pep Guardiola, Barcelona coach Xavi and Messi were teammates on the pitch.
Last week, Xavi said once again that he would welcome Messi back to the team where he amassed 672 goals, including a record 50-goal season in 2012 and a remarkable 133 goals in total between that year and 2013, as well as four Champions League championships.
“Many different things affect it. The former star midfielder Xavi remarked, “We must evaluate what the financial fair play laws let us to do. “But I believe Leo’s desire to return here will be the most crucial aspect. Leo is aware that this is his home, that our doors are always open, and that we would be thrilled to see him again.
Fans at the Camp Nou yelled Messi’s name in the tenth minute of Barca’s Cup del Rey match versus Madrid on Wednesday. Messi donned the renowned No. 10 jersey for Barcelona.
Messi is wanted back by Barcelona president Joan Laporta, but the league leaders in Spain are heavily in debt and under investigation for payments of millions of dollars to a business connected to a refereeing official in Spain.
GUARDIOLA CONFERENCE?
Messi was said to be moving to Manchester City when he was forced to quit Barcelona in 2021 in order to rejoin his old coach Guardiola.
Yet among a host of other talented midfielders, Guardiola already has prolific goal scorer Erling Haaland and playmaker Kevin De Bruyne as his main creator.
Messi makes $43.6 million a year with PSG, and Abu-Dhabi-backed City could afford to match that, particularly for one season. Yet, Messi would enter the physically demanding Premier League at a senior age of 36.
EXPERIENCE IN MLS?
If Messi chooses to play in the United States like David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the physical demands would be less intense in the MLS, with Inter Miami as a possible stop.
The Independent, a British tabloid, claims that one way to get around this would be to give Messi an ownership part in the team. Beckham’s Inter Miami could not possible match the Saudi pay offer.