This month, Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi appeared to show flashes of being comfortable with the capital club. But, more importantly, he’s establishing chemistry with Kylian Mbappé.
As the calendar turns to 2022, PSG will need Messi to be clicking on all cylinders ahead of their UEFA Champions League matchup against Real Madrid. The 34-year-old will be playing at a stadium he’s very familiar with and put forth fantastic performances.
Heading into the next year, Gervais Martel, the former president of RC Lens, spoke on L’Equipe du Soir (via Canal Supporters); the pundit stated that the squad needs to adapt to the way Messi plays. Martel adds that arriving late in the summer played a part in the Argentine’s slow start, but he sees a string of matches that give him confidence in the adaptation.
“I think that PSG must adapt to Messi. Mbappé and the others are players who play around him and who know how to give intelligent balls. And besides, have seen it in the game of PSG for some time, there is cronyism between Mbappé and Messi,” Martel said.
“You (the chroniclers) forget one thing is that Messi arrived on August 10. He had a total lack of preparation. Today he has a series of matches and is gaining momentum, and I am convinced that we will have a great Messi who I hope will win Paris. They can win the Champions League thanks to him, and so it has to be orchestrated around him whether we like it or not.”
PSG brought Messi to help them win the Champions League. The way the 34-year-old performs in the second half is more important than the slow start he endured to kick off his stint with the French giants.
