Lionel Messi has not even spent a full two months with Paris Saint-Germain, and yet has already made a grand impact within the team.
For one, Ander Herrera has been impressed with Messi’s leadership behind-the-scenes with the French powerhouse.
In speaking to Cadena Ser‘s “El Larguero” show, Herrera offered his take on Messi’s under-the-radar leadership traits with the team.
“In football there are types of leadership,” Herrera said. “There are those of words, of a captain who encourages and then there are leaders who set an example. That’s Leo. When he arrives in Paris and is the first one in the gym, when he doesn’t take the rounds as a joke, that’s a leader by example.
“Seeing that the number one doesn’t take anything as a joke makes the younger players say, ‘if the number one is like that, we have to follow him.'”
Messi is off to a rather sluggish start to his PSG career. The Argentine finished his opening two appearances with the team having not chipped in for a single goal contribution.
The Argentine forward will have one grand opportunity to put together his first top-notch performance for PSG in a big match when the Ligue 1 giants clash with Olympique Lyonnais on matchday six. There is much expectation for not only Messi, but also for the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to put out for a potent showing in this Ligue 1 showdown.
