11:32 p.m., August 14, 2021
At 8:18 p.m., the dream came true. Three days after his first steps at the Parc des Princes, in a small committee, Lionel Messi was presented to an excited audience. More than 47,000 feverish people suddenly forgot seventeen months in camera. A broad smile dried her tears of last Sunday, at the time of the farewell to Barcelona. “Thank you for the welcome,” he simply blurted into the microphone. A new era has begun. Head of poster of the Qatari owner in his first period, Javier Pastore came to welcome his compatriot. From one Argentinian number 10 to another, a decade in which PSG has grown even further. His number 30 jersey, Messi will not put it on for several weeks. Time, perhaps, to realize the barely believable events of the last days.
The American superstar LeBron James would have to tumble into Paris Basketball to trigger an equivalent hysteria. Paris has presented some of the biggest stars of recent years, and yet nothing compares to the pulga (“the chip”). The week of an apocalyptic report from the IPCC on global warming, the first transfer of Messi’s career put Paris in overheating.
A virtuoso course
The best player in planetary sport is in Paris for two years. He has won the Golden Ball six times. The record. With Barcelona, his lifelong club, he has scored more than 600 goals and won 35 trophies. These staggering figures could be enough to situate the phenomenon. And yet, if it is considered the greatest of all time, it is for something else, unquantifiable: its touch of the ball like a caress, its perfectly identified but always illegible feints, the speed of its sequences, its gestures. of star dancer. Since the time, all his adversaries know what he is going to do but none can stop him. The only one who came close, Sergio Ramos, will now play alongside him.
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Those who claim that there is no such thing as perfection have surely never seen Messi. Total footballer, he expresses his brilliance within the limits of a field. Before him, Ibrahimovic or Beckham also built their character in front of the microphones or on social networks. Messi is not quite today.
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The best in the world is Messi, and the second is Messi injured
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It all started on October 16, 2004 in a match against Espanyol Barcelona. One of those first times that we don’t forget. “At 16, he put us in misery in training, said Ludovic Giuly, who had the privilege of losing his place to his benefit. We beat him but he was silent, got up, and continued to play . ” To hurt Messi, you would have to catch him already. And again, it would not necessarily be a solution, as Argentine world champion Jorge Valdano put it: “The best in the world is Messi, and the second is Messi injured.” His speed saved him.
Lionel Messi puts stars in the eyes of children and their parents. As a teenager, his dream was almost shattered. At 12, he injected himself with hormones every day to lengthen his four feet. His father Jorge, a metal worker, gave up everything to accompany him to Barcelona, where his treatment was taken care of. The rest is a grace, a gift that has raised an ordinary family. Without Barcelona, Leo would never have become Messi. And reciprocally.
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Do not write anything about him anymore because you will never be able to describe what he does. So just watch him play.
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The good story has tarnished: the Football Leaks and then the Panama Papers have damaged the virtuoso image, who has become as diligent in the courts for his tax crimes as at the top of the scorers’ ranking.
The stubbornness of Spanish justice has worn Messi. PSG courted him with perseverance. A rebound worthy of the comeback in 2017 (Barcelona 6-1 victory after a 4-0 defeat) finished pushing the genius towards Paris: the Spanish Liga refused its contract extension, however completed. Tears flowed. And now, the Parc des Princes will vibrate. His 1.70 meter already knows both surfaces by heart: with Barcelona, Messi has played four times at the Park; he scored three times. Paris is already home.
Of course, the five-star recruitment of PSG has reignited a debate on fairness. Future adversaries speak of injustice, point to dizzying numbers. This is all going over Messi’s head. When it comes to money, “it’s daddy”, he has already slipped, as disarming as on a free kick. As Pep Guardiola, the trainer who extracted the most genius from Messi’s feet once said: “Don’t write anything about him anymore because you will never be able to describe what he does. So just watch him. to play.”
