“I had to get used to the new way of playing”- Lionel Messi looks back at his first year at PSG following Argentina’s cup win over Italy
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Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi enjoyed a bitter-sweet season with his new club, Paris Saint-Germain this year. His departure from Barcelona itself was a shock to many as no one ever thought to see Messi play for any other club in Europe.
But as fate would have it, Lionel Messi left Barcelona to join possibly the strongest team in Europe, forming one of the deadliest attacking trios in football. With Neymar and Mbappe on his flanks, everyone thought the Champions League was finally coming to Paris.
However, things didn’t go as planned. PSG dropped out of the Champions League in the Round of 16. Moreover, Messi didn’t really get going at the club all year. Lionel Messi endured his worst goal-scoring form since 2007 managing just 11 goals for PSG all year. In 34 appearances, the 34-year-old managed to be involved in 25 goals. While they did win the domestic accolades, Messi clearly didn’t have the best of seasons with PSG.
“It was a difficult year” – Lionel Messi opens up on his time in Paris this season
Speaking to TyC Sports, the 7-time Ballon D’or winner said, “After a life spent in the same place it’s not easy, especially at my age because it’s something else to do it younger when you’re prepared and somewhere you wanted it. At that time I didn’t want this change, I didn’t imagine it, I didn’t think about it and the truth is that it was a difficult year. In Barcelona, I had everything. I left when I was very young. In addition: I lived more in Barcelona than in Argentina. And it was very good. The truth is that I had no intention of changing anything.”
He continued, “I had to get used to a new way of playing because all my life I have evolved in a certain way and arrive at a place where it’s not the same, where you play differently, where you see football differently, with new teammates… I in Barcelona had teammates who had been playing together for many years and they knew me by heart.”
Lionel Messi ended the interview by saying, “All this was new to me. In addition to that, I started the championship late because I arrived late at the club, and then I had a knee blow that stopped me for a while. I couldn’t play three or four games in a row. The holidays have arrived and I said ‘Well, after that I start a new year, I’m going to arrive with all the batteries, I’m going to change, the adaptation is over’, and there Covid caught up with me! “
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Shubham Mohta
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