With Pochettino expected to leave, Angel Di Maria believes Lionel Messi will be a “far better” player at PSG next season

With Pochettino expected to leave, Angel Di Maria believes Lionel Messi will be a “far better” player at PSG next season

Lionel Messi, Di Maria and Pochettino

After Mauricio Pochettino’s exit from the Parc des Princes, PSG champion Angel Di Maria feels Lionel Messi will progress next season.

Messi had a disappointing season for the Parisians in 2021-22, netting just 11 goals in 34 games in all competitions. Although the Argentine has 15 assists, he was chastised for his failure to add to goals on a consistent basis.

Di Maria, who has played with Lionel Messi for La Albiceleste for a long time, feels his colleague will have a better season next year. The attacker, who is likely to leave PSG this summer once his contract expires, told TyC Sports (via GOAL):

FS Video

“They also appear to want [Pochettino] to depart. There will be a significant adjustment, but I believe Messi will be able to manage it.”

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Lionel Messi will be looking to replicate his Argentina form for PSG

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

The Parisians are expected to announce the departures of both Pochettino and sports director Leonardo, according to Italian writer Fabrizio Romano. In his place, Luis Campos is expected to join the club, and the team will subsequently hunt for a new head coach.

The modifications at the Parc des Princes, according to Di Maria, might help Messi enhance his stats in the 2022-23 club season. He went on to say:

“It will assist him in becoming a much better player next season. I believe he will have a strong start since he ended up scoring goals, assisting, feeling at ease, and adjusting more and more [late last season].”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oS50aS3hOA

While Lionel Messi had a difficult first campaign with PSG, he has been outstanding for Argentina. Since the end of the club season, La Albiceleste has won both of its matches, with Messi playing a key role in both games.

In La Finalissima, the 34-year-old provided two assists as Lionel Scaloni’s team overcame UEFA Euro 2020 champions Italy. Following Argentina’s Copa America victory last summer, Messi won his second trophy with the team.

In their following encounter, the Argentine captain stepped it up a level, scoring all five goals in a thrashing of Estonia. It was Messi’s second time scoring five goals in a game, more than a decade after the first. In the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League, he scored five goals for Barcelona in a 7-1 rout of Bayer Leverkusen.

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