The Lionel Messi project is said to be a mistake. However, Leo can be proud of his time in Paris when he achieved personal success and helped PSG’s business flourish.
The match against Clermont on June 4 (Hanoi time) will be the last time Lionel Messi wears a PSG shirt. The Messi era reflects the disappointment for the Argentine superstar, PSG and the fans.
When watching Messi first emerge from the window of Le Bourget airport in August 2021, smiling in a white T-shirt with the words “Ici C’est Paris” (rough translation: This is Paris), few people have I can’t think of an ending that leaves so much regret.
Messi’s influence
Messi is a player who rarely gets attention beyond his talent. But when he arrived in Paris, he began to find himself caught up in behind-the-scenes stories. A trip to Saudi Arabia last month was like the last straw, slamming the door to stay at the Parc des Princes. At that time, the leader of PSG was still debating whether to keep Messi.
The fact that Messi did not renew, and PSG are very willing and comfortable with the idea of parting the player who is considered the greatest of all time, shows that this project is not successful. However, things cannot simply be concluded like that.
Sure, Messi left with some whistling in his ears, but he also had his own victory medal. Not only have two championships, but also the crown that “El Pulga” most desires, the 2022 World Cup.
The predestined relationship from the beginning was like an arrangement. The parties involved agree to the agreement for their own purposes. PSG can provide money and the Champions League playground for Messi. In contrast, PSG received not only Messi’s talent, but also value beyond the pitch, bringing a series of business deals and commercial attraction. It was PSG who claimed that the Messi transfer paid off.
The number of followers of PSG skyrocketed. PSG’s social media accounts grew by 800,000 people in the one month after Messi signed the contract and shows no signs of stopping. Currently, this number is 5 million more followers than in July 2021. “Off the pitch, we are growing the brand everywhere,” President Nasser Al-Khelaifi said in a statement earlier this year.
In return, PSG created the ideal environment for Messi to prepare for the 2022 World Cup. In fact, Leo ended up making history and completing the greatest chapter of his career. PSG also benefited when two big stars, Kylian Mbappe and Messi, created one of the greatest finals football has ever seen. PSG’s season may be severely affected, but the Messi deal opens the best World Cup. In this respect, the Qatari owner can smile.
With Messi, the journey to conquering the World Cup will be remembered as the most brilliant success in the period of sticking with PSG even though everything was not perfect. Perhaps, the debate broke out when Messi could not help PSG win the Champions League.
This is not Messi in a Barcelona shirt, never. Leo’s first season was a rough one. He has never rotated clubs, thereby facing a new set of challenges, both adapting on the pitch and in life. 11 goals and 15 assists in 34 games isn’t a bad number, but it doesn’t show what Messi looked like at his peak.
Don’t feel sorry for Messi and PSG
In terms of sports, winning the Champions League is a measure of PSG’s success. In this respect, PSG have failed. In both seasons Messi played in Paris, the Parc des Princes team were eliminated in the round of 16.
Therefore, it is easy to conclude that Messi is a failed project. However, the failure in the Champions League cannot be attributed to Messi. PSG’s flaws come from poor squad building. They transferred unreasonable last summer. When the Champions League entered its most intense phase, injuries hit and the team was not equipped well enough.
Messi made efforts, but could not revive PSG alone. Messi’s influence cannot be underestimated. He built a strong relationship with Mbappe while leaving not bad individual performances. Aside from Messi’s 41 goals and assists in 40 games this season, PSG’s situation is certainly worse.
However, Messi is also responsible for 9 defeats in all competitions at the beginning of 2023. It should be known that they only lost 4 matches in the whole of 2022. PSG fell quickly after the 2022 World Cup and Messi is no exception. He scored 7 goals and provided 10 assists in 13 games before the World Cup, followed by 9 goals and 6 assists in 18 games.
Tactically, Messi is not suitable for a team with so many stars, even when winning the Ligue 1 championship. Messi, Mbappe and Neymar only thrive in a squad with a set style of play. around yourself.
Messi exploded in the period before the 2022 World Cup, when PSG were unbeaten in 23 matches. After reaching the top, the decline in performance made fans suspect that Leo was taking advantage of the team to win the greatest victory of his career. Therefore, the criticism, the harsh boos appear more and more.
Messi reflects the club is going in the wrong direction, pursuing superstars instead of a viable project. That’s when PSG wanted to change and put Mbappe at the center. In fact they are doing so. With Messi, the ending in Paris became bleak. However, it is not possible to confirm that the Messi deal failed completely.
Looking back over the past two years, it is clear that the parties achieved much of what they expected. Like a business deal, the deal with Messi helps PSG in many ways, even if not on the pitch. So don’t feel sorry for PSG or Messi. They are still successful in their own way in this short predestined relationship.
Discussion about this post