Madrid (AFP)
Could this be Lionel Messi's last European tango with Barcelona?
Threatened with elimination on Wednesday in Paris in the Champions League (9:00 p.m.), the Argentinian is at a crossroads, torn between a contract that expires at the end of June and the interest of several big clubs, including PSG.
In Barcelona, all the supporters want to believe that the six-time Ballon d'Or will change their minds, after having wanted to leave the club last summer.
And the hope of seeing the superstar stay in Catalonia has taken a little thick with the return to business of Joan Laporta, a close friend of Messi re-elected president of Barça on Sunday, a decade after a successful first term (2003-2010 ).
Still, the Argentine assures that he has not decided anything yet and that he could live his last big European evening in the Blaugrana jersey on Wednesday: his Barça drank the cup in the first leg (4-1) and is very close to the exit.
Seeing "La Puce" evolve on Wednesday at the Parc des Princes is perhaps a harbinger of what could be done in its future.
After his real-false start last summer, several transfer rumors sent him to Paris Saint-Germain.
The revelations of January on its "pharaonic" contract (555 M EUR between 2017 and 2021) hardly dampened these speculations, the PSG being, from the start, one of the few clubs in the world with Manchester City to be able to amortize economically the arrival of such a superstar.
- The call of Neymar's foot -
Since December, the Parisian president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and the sporting director Leonardo have proclaimed their interest in the Argentinian, well helped by a call from the foot of Neymar: "Next year, we must play again together!" , had launched the Brazilian on ESPN in early December.
And Parisian supporters are already dreaming of a dream trio made up of Messi, his friend and ex-teammate "Ney" and the prodigy Kylian Mbappé.
"Great players can play in any team. (...) Technically very strong players adapt to each other and manage to connect through their talent. They synchronize and that generates very nice things" , said coach Mauricio Pochettino in an interview with AFP last week.
What factors will feed Messi's decision?
The Argentinian (33) has never ceased to link his future at Barcelona to the existence of a "winning project" allowing him to win a fifth Champions League.
Four years almost to the day after the famous "remountada" passed down to posterity (6-1 on March 8, 2017 at the Camp Nou), Messi has not drawn a line on his European ambitions, despite a series of continental disappointments (3 -0 against AS Rome, 4-0 in Liverpool and especially the 8-2 against Bayern in the quarter-final of the last edition in Lisbon).
- Wind of freshness -
And for the past few weeks, a breeze of freshness has been blowing above the head of the Argentinian elf.
In his last ten official matches, the striker has scored 8 goals, and moved back to Luis Suarez in the ranking of the top scorers in La Liga (with 19 goals in 24 matches).
As coach Ronald Koeman begins to put his paw on the squad, Messi has found some joy in playing alongside Griezmann, Alba, Dembélé, Braithwaite, Pedri or Moriba.
Off the field, the fact that the Argentine came in person to drop off his ballot at Camp Nou on Sunday during the club's presidential election, a first for him, was interpreted as a sign of his involvement.
Messi also congratulated Laporta on his victory, according to the latter.
“Twenty years ago to the day (Sunday), a boy named Leo Messi started with Barça's youngest. Seeing that he came to vote is proof that Leo loves Barça. convince to stay. An applause for Messi! "chanted the new president on Sunday during his victory speech.
Enough to retain Lionel Messi?
All Barcelona are hoping Wednesday's game won't be their last dance.
© 2021 AFP