Argentine superstar Lionel Messi gave his first press conference on Wednesday for his arrival at Paris Saint-Germain.
Alongside President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the former FC Barcelona striker said he was impatient to play in his new colors and aims to win the Champions League again.
An excitement rarely observed at a press conference.
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi presented his star rookie, Argentinian Lionel Messi, on Wednesday at the Parc des Princes.
Arrived the day before from Barcelona, the 34-year-old Argentinian footballer said he still had the "dream of once again lifting the Champions League", a competition he has won four times with FC Barcelona, and after which the PSG runs without success since the arrival of its Qatari owners in 2011.
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"I want to start this new stage"
Lionel Messi spoke to the press the day after signing his contract with Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.
"I want to find my partners, the management, and start this new stage", also declared La Pulga, stressing that it had been "very hard" to leave FC Barcelona, where he arrived at the 'age 13, "after so long".
Messi pic.twitter.com/pi51T8N9Mc
- Jean-François Pérès (@jfperes) August 11, 2021
The former Barcelonan does not arrive in unknown land.
The Argentinian knows his compatriots who play at the club, like Angel Di Maria or Mauro Icardi.
"I have friends who play here, and sometimes I watched their matches," said the Neo-Parisian.
Lionel Messi also claimed to have been influenced by Brazilian Neymar, another superstar, in his choice to join PSG.
The two men had met in Barcelona from 2013 to 2017 and had won the Champions League there in 2015.
Kylian Mbappé "has no more excuses" to leave, according to Al-Khelaïfi
Dithyrambic on Lionel Messi, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi for his part addressed the case of French striker Kylian Mbappé, at the end of his contract in June 2022, and who has still not extended with the Parisian club. "Kylian is Parisian, very competitive. He said he wanted a competitive team, now there is no more competitive (than PSG). He has no excuse to do something else ( that stay) ", said the boss of the club of the capital about his number 7, announced as likely leaving for Real Madrid by the Spanish press.
Mbappé had indicated at the end of May on Canal + that he wanted to "feel in a place where (he) can (t) really win, where there is a solid project around (him)", when receiving his best trophy player of the season. The French striker resumed competition on Saturday in Troyes, on the first day of Ligue 1 (2-1). Late Wednesday morning, he still had not reacted publicly to the arrival of Lionel Messi in the capital, unlike another jewel of the capital, Neymar.