Lionel Messi has described the beginning of his time at his old club Paris Saint-Germain as “very tough,” and he has referred to the club’s two consecutive unsuccessful bids for the Champions League as a “massive disappointment.”
In an interview with beIN Sports that aired on Sunday, Lionel Messi said the following about his decision to play for Paris Saint-Germain: “I came to Paris because I liked the club, because I had friends in the dressing room… it seemed easier for me to adapt rather than another destination I could have gone to,” Messi said.
“In all honesty, it was a very difficult process to adjust to the new environment, much more difficult than I had anticipated… with a new gameplan, new teammates, and a new city.”
“Since I came late, I was unable to participate in the preseason. The beginning was challenging for both myself and my family.
After 17 seasons with Barcelona, Messi, now 36 years old, signed with Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021. However, Messi has decided to leave the French city and join Inter Miami of the Major League Soccer (MLS).
Messi’s first season with PSG, in which he scored 11 goals in 34 games, was made more difficult when he caught Covid over the winter break in Argentina, which caused him to miss a month of action and resulted in his scoring 11 goals in 34 games.
“It took me some time to refind my physical form,” he said, adding that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which Messi won with Argentina, also took its toll on him physically. “It took me some time to refind my physical form,” he said.
It’s hardly an excuse, but the World Cup did play a significant part in everything that happened. Some returned later than others, while some, like Neymar, were hurt in the process.
“I believe that the World Cup had an effect, in general, on the level of competition in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League.”
Messi said that losing the Champions League to Real Madrid in 2022 and Bayern Munich this season was a “massive disappointment” for him.
Even some of the Paris Saint-Germain supporters turned against Lionel Messi and whistled insults at him from the stands.
“At first, everything was fine, and I got a lot of support… but later on, a portion of the Parisian fandom dealt with me in a different manner. He admitted that there was a rift with certain members of the public, despite the fact that the vast majority of people were kind to me.