After leaving Paris this past summer as a free agent to sign with Inter Miami, Lionel Messi was back in the French capital. The Argentine attended the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony as he was one of the favorites for the award.
Messi would win the award for the eighth time in his career. The 36-year-old spoke about various topics after receiving the honor, and one of them was his two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.
“It’s an incredible city that I had the chance to live in for a little while,” Messi said. “From a sporting point of view, it didn’t go as I hoped, but I keep in mind all the good things I experienced, and there were a lot of them too.”
Leo Messi on Paris and PSG: “It’s an incredible city that I had the chance to live in for a little while. From a sporting point of view, it didn’t go as I hoped but I keep in mind all the good things I experienced, and there were a lot of them too.” 🗣️🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/HSfbazaxH3
— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) October 30, 2023
A recent claim from a French football pundit revealed that Messi didn’t want to leave PSG. Additionally, the veteran spoke about how challenging it was to leave Paris. Messi noted that departing for the United States wasn’t an easy decision.
“My time in Paris did not go as I hoped for different reasons,” Messi said. “I lived two years in Paris and I have very good friends there. I enjoyed the city a lot. My sons really appreciated it and that it cost them a lot to leave Paris because they didn’t want to move yet and wanted to stay in their school and with their friends.”
With PSG moving in a different direction, Messi didn’t have a spot on this squad even though Luis Enrique has managed him. The capital club wanted to offload costly veterans and shift to a team, especially a younger one eager to prove themselves.
Is this new method going to work out? Time will tell.
