It was expected, it’s now official: after two seasons in Ligue 1, a few feats of arms, but still no Champions League for Paris SG, Lionel Messi will leave the Parisian club at the end of his last game Saturday night.
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The departure of the seven-time Ballon d’Or, who will be 36 at the end of June, closes an agitated chapter of two years during which the Argentinian sometimes shone, but above all experienced a growing disenchantment, to the point of becoming the target of the whistles of the park of the Princes.
It also seems difficult to imagine the stadium in western Paris cheering its “Pulga” against Clermont on Saturday evening (9 p.m.), during the 38e Ligue 1 day, his 75e game with Paris.
After saying goodbye to Sergio Ramos on Friday and perhaps waiting for the epilogue of coach Christophe Galtier’s mandate, announced by the press, PSG formalized the news by means of a press release a few hours before the meeting.
In the midst of a revolution, the club still paid tribute to the Argentine star, “the best player in history”, whom he is “proud to have been able to count in his ranks”.
Messi’s reaction can be summed up in one sentence: “Thank you to the club, to the city of Paris and to its inhabitants for these two years. I wish them the best for the future”.
Two years after a departure from Barcelona which brought him to tears, this end of his mandate in Paris risks arousing a little less emotion in the Argentinian: he is now looking for a way out, perhaps for an unlikely return to France. Catalonia or a golden exile in Saudi Arabia, a country that is actively courting him.
But in Paris, the transplant did not take, especially since the world title of the “Pulga” in Doha.
Performance decline
Over the course of PSG’s disappointments this season, he seemed less and less involved in the game, walking a lot, losing duels. His few flashes of genius did not erase everything.
With Lionel Messi, PSG was supposed to finally pass a mental milestone in the Champions League. However, the club remains on two eliminations in a row in the round of 16, ultimately closer to regression than progression.
Like other teammates, he missed his round of 16 C1 against Bayern Munich.
Since the return of the World Cup, Paris has suffered two eliminations in a row, in C1 and in the Coupe de France against Olympique de Marseille. And a defeat record: nine in 28 matches in all competitions.
The romantics will still remember some nice moments: his goal against Manchester City in the fall of 2021 or a last-second free kick against Lille (4 to 3), on February 19, an evening when he had not shown great -something else but had offered victory as a champion, a good summary of his intermittent genius in Paris.
He also scored the title goal in Strasbourg (1-1).
But his image has been tarnished by his unauthorized getaway to Saudi Arabia, his likely future sporting destination, according to reports from Riyadh, for which he was punished by the club and also apologized.
A marketing success
About status, “Leo” symbolizes the choice of direction, more political and marketing, than sporting.
Away from the pitch, Messi’s adventure at PSG has also been a resounding success for the club’s reputation abroad, particularly in Asia.
The arrival of the Argentinian star has brought in new sponsors. His branding has guaranteed lucrative operations for the club and allowed the club to take a turn globally.
The sales of shirts, advertising contracts, media coverage and the increase in the price of places at the Parc are all elements that have enabled the club’s income to increase.
Valuing the club financially or sportingly? The choice of the sportsman finally took over. The new policy could now be consolidated around its star Kylian Mbappé and a less “bling-bling” project, more oriented towards the pool of “titis”.