Lionel Messi has called his start at his former club PSG “extremely difficult”. He also considers two consecutive failures in the Champions League a “huge disappointment”.
Before moving to the US to play for Inter Miami, Lionel Messi opened up about his two ups and downs at PSG. He shared with beIN Sports : “I came to Paris because I like PSG, because I have friends in the dressing room there… There was another destination I could have gone to, because it was easier for me to adapt there.
In fact, at PSG it was a very difficult adaptation process, much more difficult than I thought… There, I had to get used to a new way of operating, new teammates, life in a new city. I arrived late, I didn’t have much time to prepare for the season. The start was difficult for me, my family”.
Messi has had a number of disappointing matches in France.
What Messi won at PSG was two Ligue 1 trophies. Clearly, that wasn’t enough for him. In his first season, he scored 11 goals in 34 games for PSG. The season was made more difficult after he contracted Covid-19 during the winter break in Argentina , meaning he was sidelined for a month.
The following season, Messi integrated faster and contributed more. But a month of World Cup 2022 with the Argentina national team also “cut off” the explosive streak he had at the club.
The 36-year-old superstar himself admitted: “It took me time to get back into shape after the World Cup in Qatar. That’s not an excuse but the World Cup played a big role in my career.
Some came back later than others, some were injured, like Neymar. I think, in general, the level of Ligue 1 and the Champions League was affected by the World Cup.”
Messi also admitted that the defeats against Real Madrid in the 2021/22 Champions League and Bayern Munich in the 2022/23 Champions League were “a huge disappointment”. Therefore, the fans have a reason to react to him.
“At first it was great, I received a lot of support from the fans,” Messi stressed. “But then a part of the fans in Paris treated me differently. The majority treated me well but there was a rift with a part.”
