Lionel Messi has revealed that his plan to win the Champions League for the fifth time influenced his decision to join Paris Saint-Germain.
Last week, the Superstar left Barcelona after 21 years at the club; following the financial struggle at Camp Nou, as they could not finalize the five-year contract earlier agreed with the 34-year-old.
Messi joined PSG on a two-year deal on Tuesday and says, Neymar and Mauricio Pochettino were influential in his decision. Messi also admitted that his former Barcelona teammate Neymar helped to persuade him to move to PSG after his time at Nou Camp was at its end.
Messi’s Two Year deal
A two-year contract was signed with PSG on Tuesday, Few days after the Blaugrana announced he will leave the club after 21 years ago.
He focused on bringing success to the French capital, especially in the Champions League. When asked if PSG could make the final step, Messi said;
“I think this team is already done and ready. But despite the last setback, Messi is focused on bringing success to the French capital, especially in the Champions League, which has proved difficult. Messi said that he thinks this team is already done and ready.
“I just came here to help, and I’ll give my best. My goal and my dream are to win this trophy again, and I think that Paris is the best place to have a chance to win it again. It’s not easy. Sometimes you can have the best team globally, and you don’t win the Champions League; this is football. Paris has always neared victory in the Champions League. In the best competition, the best teams are playing so it is challenging to win it. You need a very united squad, and you also need luck. “It’s an exceptional competition, and that’s why it’s so beautiful and so important; we all want to win this competition.”
How long has he won the Champions League?
Messi’s recent triumph in the Champions League came in 2015, when a Barcelona team spearheaded by him, Neymar, and Luis Suarez beat Juventus in Berlin. Neymar celebrated his reunion with Messi on social media on Tuesday, and the Argentine admitted the Brazil forward had played an influential role in his decision to move to PSG, as well as his countryman and new manager Mauricio Pochettino. “I’ve got some friends here in the dressing room,” Messi said. “When you see the squad, you really want to play with them. “We had contact, and Neymar, of course, did a lot and was important. “The whole dressing room and the staff influenced my decision. When we saw it was possible, the first thing we did was talk to them and Pochettino. It’s been very easy since the very beginning. All the squad and the staff did a lot to help me choose this club.” While Messi will be playing professional football for a club outside of Spain for the first time in his career, there is a chance for PSG and Barcelona to meet in the Champions League. That scenario would bring about an emotional reunion between Messi and his former club and offer him the opportunity to say goodbye to the Barca fans who were unable to witness his final season at the Nou Camp due to coronavirus restrictions. “Barcelona is my home, I’ve been there since I was a kid,” said Messi. “I’ve lived so many times, both good and bad. “I don’t know if we are going to face each other. It would be very nice to go back to Barcelona. I hope it will be with the fans. “It would be very strange to play there with another shirt, but it can happen.”
PSG President’s confidence they can afford to sign Messi
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was happy to present Messi as a new PSG player with a promised the club could afford to sign Messi, unlike Barcelona. It meant that Messi, whose offer to reduce his salary by 50 percent was still not enough to keep him at the Nou Camp, after being a free agent.
It allowed PSG to make their move with an offer of a deal worth £25m per year after tax, plus bonuses and includes a £25m signing-on fee. At the same time, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, and Georginio Wijnaldum at the Parc des Princes were arriving.
Al-Khelaifi, who is also the chairman of the European Club Association – said: “We followed the financial fair play regulations since day one when we started, and until the end, we’re going to always fulfill the rules. He said that before doing anything, it is looked into by the commercial people, the financial people, and legal personnel.
