Since his arrival at Inter Miami, Lionel Messi has regained his colors both on the field and at a press conference. Author of nine goals in six games for David Beckham’s club, “La Pulga” (“the chip”) spoke to journalists on Thursday, August 17, about his new life in Florida but also returned to his adventure at Paris Saint- Germain (PSG), in unexpected terms for a player who is not a fan of controversy.
“As I said at the time, my move to PSG was not something I wanted,” said the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. I didn’t want to leave Barcelona and it happened overnight. The captain of the Argentine world champions then shared the unease he felt on the banks of the Seine and the difficulty he and his family had in adapting to a new environment, after spending almost all their life in Catalonia.
These statements did not fail to cause astonishment, even consternation, on social networks. Like Mookie, a long-time PSG supporter: “I’m upset. He came for his money and to prepare for his World Cup…” In a message posted on his X account (formerly Twitter), Liam finds it “a pity” to turn his back on a club that has “graciously fed him for the last two years”, before recalling that, “without PSG, Messi would not have been in Europe for two years already”.
An unwanted but not forced departure
Especially since the story does not say exactly the same thing as the new recruit from Miami. When Joan Laporta was elected head of FC Barcelona in March 2021, he made the extension of the idol of Catalan supporters a top priority. A desire, it is true, which seemed shared at the time by Lionel Messi. But Barça, completely bloodless financially, can only offer the Argentinian a lower lease due to the rules imposed by La Liga – the Spanish championship – in particular on the supervision of salaries. And if the Pulga did not “wish to leave” the club, they also did not want to make big concessions on their emoluments in order to extend their contract.
The affair came to light on September 21, 2022, when El Mundo lifted the veil behind the scenes of a first abortive attempt to renew the contract of the top scorer in the history of FC Barcelona in 2020. The Spanish daily highlighted the demands made at the time by the Messi clan, embodied above all by the striker’s father, Jorge. According to the documents unveiled, the Catalans had accepted that Messi compensate for a drop in salary for the 2020-2021 season with two successive increases the following ones.
On the other hand, a categorical refusal would have been signified regarding the new release clause – the amount that a club must pay to automatically release a player from his contract – which he wanted to set at… 10,000 euros. A ridiculous amount which suggested that the native of Rosario had made sure, contrary to his statements, to easily secure a way out.
‘I didn’t feel happy’ in the capital
Enough to undermine the speech of Leo Messi, who threw the responsibility for the end of his Catalan adventure only on the club. And as soon as he arrived with great fanfare on the banks of the Seine, the sudden nature of which is certainly difficult to contradict, the player had expressed his enthusiasm and his desire to turn the page of a departure from Barcelona as quickly as possible. , which he described as “difficult”.
Subsequently, the Argentinian hardly spoke about his integration and his life in Paris as at PSG, for whom he will have played 75 matches and scored 32 goals. Shortly after ending his commitment with the Ile-de-France team, he admitted in an interview with Mundo deportivo on June 7, 2023 that he “did not feel happy” in the capital.
“I had to adapt to a totally different place from where I had lived all my life, both in terms of the city and in a sporting sense. And it was difficult, the opposite of what is happening to me here at the moment, he repeated on Thursday. Today, I can tell you that I am very happy with the decision I made. »
One thing is certain: in one month in Miami, the Pulga has already been more talkative about his time at PSG than in two years in Paris.