Wednesday | August 11, 2021
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) made an announcement of their lifetime by unveiling former Barcelona Football Club (FC) dynamite star-attacker on Wednesday Aug. 11 in Paris, France.
The big reveal caught many football enthusiasts by surprise. Nobody saw this earth-shuttering move coming. Even top pundits were found unawares when Messi dropped the bombshell to leave Barcelona for the new venture.
If anyone had bounced a thought about the possibility of a Messi crossover to Ligue 1, many could have passed it as wishy-washy talk. A ferry tale.
Until today, the scribes kept throwing the English Premier League giants Chelsea as one of the main suitors for the Argentinian captain. Of course, the Manchester FCs have always been interested in the diminutive striker.
He will be wearing a massive number 30 jersey, a distant imprint from his usual ritualistic 10. Jersey number “10” or not, what was clear today was that Paris came to a standstill with snaking queues for spotting or even grabbing a shred embedded with an affectionate Messi accessory.
The dust settled when PSG finally pinned Messi to a 2-year contract worth $35 million with an option for a year extension. The 34-year-old little magician joined the French side as a free agent.
Messi was all teary when he announced his departure from the Spanish powerhouse, Barcelona, he played for 21 years. The sob was stimulated by his unwillingness not to move away from the only club he has ever known from his budding football journey.
However, the Spanish new fair play finance rules ruled him out because of his towering bill. In his own words, Messi said he went as far as reducing his salary by a staggering 50%. Yet, that was not sufficient according to the new Spanish changes. Furthermore, the situation was exacerbated by his childhood club that could no longer afford to pay him.
This dead-end situation got him in a bind. He had to go. And his move was pretty quick. He came to an abrupt stop all the same. Fast.
Talking to reporters in Paris, Messi said he chose PSG because their ambitions ideally converged with his desire to clinch yet another European Champions League. He has been crowned four (4) times with this title during his long stint at Barcelona.
The 6-time Ballon d’Or marksman, a record on its own, still nurses an appetite for glory in the twilight of football career. Wait, he is not thinking about hanging his polished boots anytime soon.
At PSG, he will reunite with his former teammate at Barcelona, Neymar. The French club will be a galaxy of stars with big-hitters in the form of Kylian Mbappé, Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum, Ángel Di María, Gianluigi Donnarumma under the tutelage of former Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The melting pot of finesse that PSG have become will surely lift the profile of the French Ligue with the acquisition of these supremely-talented superstars of world football. Never before has French football courted so much attention in a short space generated by a single player. The Neymar signature was big. But the Messi one is colossal.
Since Lionel Messi has never played for any club except Barcelona and his national team Argentina, how will he fare at his new found home in France? There are no definite answers up to this point. The ink on his new contract is barely dry. That is to say, more will be known with the passage of time.