The Argentine Leo Messi has been the new player of Paris Saint-Germain since last Tuesday, a club that yesterday received him with all the honors in a crowded press conference to welcome the footballer, who stated that he feels very happy to ‘start this new stage in the French capital. He also thanked PSG for their perseverance in joining him after a “tough start” to Barcelona, a club that has become his home for two decades of his life.
“I am very happy. You all know about my departure from Barcelona. It was a very tough situation, because I was there for many years. Such a change is always difficult, a long time has passed. So getting here brings me a huge congratulations. These were the first words of Leo Messi in the press room of the Parc dels Príncipes stadium. He also applauded PSG’s insistence on signing him, which was “not at all easy” given the circumstances.
Accompanied by his wife and three children in a press room, he cited the president of his new club, the Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaifi -present at his side throughout the conference-, and also the sporting director, the Brazilian Leonardo. “I appreciate how they treated me, the speed of it all and how easy it was with so little time because it was very difficult to fix the situation with so little room for maneuver.”
The 34-year-old Argentine welcomed sharing a dressing room with the “best in the world” in his position, referring to his new attacking colleagues Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, among others. Messi, who left the Camp Nou after 17 seasons in the first team in Barça blue and other years as part of his base teams, also explained that Neymar himself was a very important factor in deciding to leave for Paris. He coincided with him from 2013 to 2017 in Barcelona. He also helps his compatriots Ángel de Maria and Leandro Paredes in the dressing room. “That did a lot to be able to come here,” he assumed.
The Champions League and Barça
At the same time, he talked about the Champions League. The great desire that Paris Saint-Germain has been pursuing for years. And he opined on what, in his opinion, is what is needed to lift it. “There are times when you can have the best team in the world and not win it, sometimes small details leave you out, and we know how difficult the Champions League is. Without going any further, PSG, having a team, have not been able to get it yet “, explained Messi, who also emphasized that it takes” a bit of luck “and” a good group “to get out of it. Of course, he is upset that right now he is “in the right club” to win this competition again this season.
He also spoke about a possible reunion with Barcelona precisely in this competition. A very real option, depending on how things go for both teams. For Messi it would be “nice” to return to the Camp Nou one day but at the same time he confessed that it would be “strange”. And he added: “This is football and anything can happen.”
After playing in the last Copa America in July and being on holiday so far, the Argentine did not give a precise date on his debut with the PSG shirt, detailing that he still has to make a small preseason and talk to the coaching staff.
.
