Text/Yangcheng Evening News reporter Liu Yi
Football king Messi officially ended his last game at Paris Saint-Germain (hereinafter referred to as "Greater Paris"). In the final round of the season, early-winning Grand Paris suffered an unexpected 2-3 defeat at home to mid-table side Claremont. Two hours before the start of the game, the Paris club officially announced that Messi will leave the team at the end of the season, and his two-season Ligue <> career is over.
Messi and Grand Paris are good to get together
In this match, Messi played the whole game, and although some Grand Paris fans still booed Messi, he was still grateful to the Grand Paris Club. Messi said after the game: "Thank you to Paris Saint-Germain, thank you to the city of Paris and I wish them the best of luck in the future. ”
The Grand Paris Club official said: "After two years of adventure in Paris, Messi's journey at Paris Saint-Germain will come to an end at the end of the 2022-2023 season. The club would like to thank the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner for winning two Ligue <> titles and a French Super Cup for Paris. ”
Two years ago, Messi's contract extension with Barcelona (hereinafter referred to as "Barca") failed, Barça captain Messi and Real Madrid captain Ramos joined Greater Paris, and the former Spanish national derby sworn rival became teammates in the new club. In the previous match between Barca and Real Madrid, Ramos, the soul of Real Madrid's defense, focused on "caring" for Messi and made fierce defensive moves many times. After arriving in Paris, whenever Messi was seriously fouled by his opponent, it was often Ramos who stood out for him, and his former sworn enemy became a good partner. Whenever Messi scores, the teammate who laughs the most is Ramos, and vice versa.
Before the start of the season finale, the Grand Paris Club officially announced that Messi and Ramos will leave the team when their contracts expire, and this match became the farewell performance of the two superstars in Grand Paris. After the match, team executives, led by club president Al-Nasser, came to the dressing room to shake hands with the departing Messi and Ramos, presented them with souvenirs and took a group photo together. Grand Paris wrote on its official social account: "Thank you Ramos and Messi for everything. ”
Messi has gained a lot in the past two years
Argentine superstar Messi's career label is Barca, and the brilliant club achievements, including the Champions League and Club World Cup, were achieved at Barca, but unfortunately did not achieve decent national team results during that period. Since his contract with Barca expired two years ago, Messi has instead ushered in a leap forward in his national team career.
On July 2021, 7, Messi led Argentina to the Copa America title, and Argentina defeated host Brazil 11-1 in the final, which was Messi's first national team title. In August 0, Messi, who failed to extend his contract with Barca, joined Greater Paris on a free transfer and signed a two-season contract. Due to the lack of systematic pre-season preparation in the 2021-8 season, Messi's first season in Grand Paris was not very good, but he still won the 2021 Ballon d'Or as the star of the Copa America winner, becoming the first player to win the Ballon d'Or during his time in Grand Paris.
In the 2022-2023 season, Messi's form has rebounded significantly after full pre-season preparation, leading Argentina to the World Cup title at the end of last year. Messi was born a year after Maradona led Argentina to their last World Cup title. Although the 2022 Ballon d'Or was taken away by Benzema, Messi was named World Footballer of the Year 2022 by a clear margin, becoming the first player to win World Footballer of the Year during his time at Grand Paris.
Messi's success at the World Cup in Qatar is partly due to the fact that Grand Paris has a strong advantage in Ligue 1 and the league difficulty is relatively low, allowing him to focus more on the national team competition. However, some Grand Paris fans believe that Messi has not invested enough in club matches, resulting in Grand Paris being out of the Champions League 8/<> final for two consecutive years. The "Big Three" combination of Messi, Mbappe and Neymar was not successful, but Messi cannot all be blamed.
What is the future of Messi?
After two years, Messi has become a free agent again, and "where is Messi going" has once again become a hot topic in the hot summer. Is Messi returning to his old club Barca, or going to Saudi League giants Riyadh Crescent to "pan for gold", or to play for Major League League?
This season, Messi contributed 21 goals and 20 assists in official matches for Paris, becoming the only player in Europe's top five leagues to score goals and assists in a "double 20". However, Messi's running ability on the field has declined, which sometimes affects the overall operation of the team, and the lack of pressing ability in the front court will also increase the defensive pressure in the midfield, and some team managers have doubts about Messi's current ability.
Barca coach Xavi is Messi's teammate for many years, and together they have created the glory era of Barca's "cosmos". Xavi said: "Messi can bring the talent that the team needs, his last pass, his set-piece and scoring ability are particularly good, and he can still play a different role up front. However, the Barça club has fallen into financial crisis in recent years, and is often described by fans as pretending to be interested in Messi, and the operation of bringing in Messi is thunderous.
As the 2022 Ballon d'Or cycle does not include the World Cup held in Qatar at the end of last year, as the star and captain of the new World Cup winner, Messi is still one of the favourites to win the 2023 Ballon d'Or, and has the opportunity to set his record for winning the Ballon d'Or to eight times. Messi, a Ballon d'Or level superstar, if he goes to the Saudi League or the Major League of America to "pan for gold" early, it will make people feel that it is a pity that Cristiano Ronaldo's victory in the Saudi league giants Riyadh is not happy, and it is also a lesson for Messi.
If he stays in Europe's top five leagues, Messi needs to find a team that can play to his characteristics. After becoming a free agent again, what choice does the Mei Ball King make?