‘I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t having fun’: Lionel Messi frustrated with two years at PSG

“Mixed feelings”. That’s what Leo Messi comes to mind when he sums up his two years at Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine world champion announced on Wednesday evening in an interview with the daily newspaper Mundo Deportivo his decision to join Inter Miami. In this river interview, the seven-time winner of the Golden Ball also rarely performs and gives a more than contrasting assessment of his stay in the capital club.

“The truth is that the first year was very difficult for various reasons,” he explains, mainly referring to the trauma of his departure from Barcelona, ​​the situation in which the player and his entourage found themselves.

However, after the difficulties of adapting the first months, the Argentine seems to have finally found himself in the capital. “The second year, the first six months (i.e. the beginning of the 2022-2023 season) I felt very, very good, very comfortable in the club, in the city, with my family, in other places. In the middle was the World Cup, which marked all the teams, the season, with such an important competition in the middle for the first time. I think it had a big impact on the season. I was hoping to end differently, but hey, those were two difficult years for me in general, but now they are over. »

“It affected my family life”

A remark in the form of relief, which does not go into details, but which, we think, refers to this history of Paris, which will never be tinged with love. Already last year, the Argentine came to the attention of fans after being eliminated against Real Madrid in the 1/8 finals of the Champions League. The whistles fell from the stands again in the second half of the season, despite a remarkable record (21 goals and 20 in 41 assists in all competitions). Do they underlie this contrasting record? Asked if the two years spent in Paris influenced his decision to go to Miami, Messi clarifies: “Partly yes, these are two years when I was not happy, I did not have fun, and this affected my family life, I missed a lot of things in my kids life at school. In Barcelona I went to look for them, here I did it much less, shared fewer activities with them. It also motivated my decision to reunite, in quotes, with my family, with my children, and enjoy everyday life. I was lucky to achieve everything in football, and now it goes a little beyond the sporting aspect. »

After a difficult start, after an unwanted departure from Barcelona, ​​the Argentine’s entourage nevertheless adapted to life in France. “(My relatives) are also excited about this new change (for Miami), even if they are also sad to leave. At first it was difficult for them, but now they are more than adapted here in Paris. They have friends at school and it hurts them to leave it all. They have grown. Thiago, in particular, understands the situation and looks forward to what awaits him. »