Messi eyes 'something special' at PSG before presentation
"I know how talented the squad and the coaching staff are here."
PARIS (AFP) - Lionel Messi said he wants to “build something special” at Paris Saint-Germain before being unveiled as a Parisian player on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old superstar signed a two-year deal with PSG on Tuesday with the option of an additional year.
Messi, who will wear the number 30 in Paris, the number he had when he began his professional career at Barca, will be unveiled by PSG at a press conference at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) on Wednesday.
“I am excited to begin a new chapter of my career at Paris Saint-Germain,” he said in a statement on the club’s website.
“Everything about the club matches my football ambitions,” said Messi, who was given a hero’s welcome by the PSG fans when he arrived in the French capital on Tuesday.
“I know how talented the squad and the coaching staff are here.
“I am determined to help build something special for the club and the fans, and I am looking forward to stepping out onto the pitch at the Parc des Princes.”
French Football League president Vincent Labrune hailed the surprise arrival of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner as “extraordinary news for the exposure of Ligue 1 internationally”.
“The arrival of Lionel Messi will increase the attractiveness and visibility of our league on all continents,” he said on Wednesday, praising PSG’s leadership.
Warm welcome
Messi, who was a free agent after his shock departure from boyhood club Barcelona last week, landed at Le Bourget airport in the north of Paris on Tuesday afternoon.
He was greeted by hundreds of PSG supporters who had gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of their new signing.
Fans also gathered outside the club’s Parc des Princes home and near a plush hotel in the city where Messi along with wife Antonella and their three children are expected to be staying.
Messi waved to crowds while sporting a Paris T-shirt on his arrival at the airport before being taken for his medical.
The completion of his move closes a whirlwind few days following the announcement last Thursday that he would leave Barcelona, the club he has represented for the entirety of his 17-year professional career.
PSG’s move for Messi had been an open secret for days, although reports in Spain on Monday night talked of a “final offer” by Barcelona to try to keep the player.
Instead, Messi will join a PSG attack already featuring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Qatar-backed PSG see Messi as the missing piece in their jigsaw as they chase the Champions League, the trophy they want more than anything else.
“Back together,” Neymar, who played with Messi at Barcelona before moving to PSG in 2017, posted on Twitter.
Coming to terms
Barcelona are still coming to terms with the departure of their greatest ever player, who said goodbye to his club of two decades at a tearful news conference on Sunday.
Despite offering to cut his salary by half to seal a new five-year contract with the Catalans, the deal foundered on Spanish league salary cap rules.
Barcelona, carrying debts of 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), are unable to register new signings because of their financial predicament.
With Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City having ruled themselves out, PSG were about the only club that could afford what is expected to be a deal worth 35 million euros a year.
He leaves Barcelona with 672 goals in 778 appearances, a record tally for one club.
Messi won 35 trophies at the Camp Nou after joining Barca aged 13, but his last appearance was a damp squib: a 2-1 home defeat behind closed doors against Celta Vigo in May.
His trophy haul includes four Champions Leagues and 10 La Liga titles.
“Firstly, I’m a little sad for him. He wanted to stay at Barcelona,” former teammate Cesc Fabregas said late on Tuesday.
“I’m from Barcelona and you know it’s going to be difficult to watch Barca without Leo.”
PSG building
This summer, PSG have already added veteran Spanish defender Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, the star of Euro 2020.
They have also signed Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool, snatching the Netherlands’ midfielder from under the noses of Barcelona, and spent 60 million euros on Inter Milan right-back Achraf Hakimi, who scored on his PSG league debut at the weekend.
Messi could be unveiled to supporters on Saturday, when PSG host Strasbourg and a full house of nearly 48,000 will be allowed in for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic struck 18 months ago.
However, he is unlikely to make his debut until later this month at the earliest.
