Messi and Paris both lose! The superstar policy failed miserably, and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time
On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain boss Galti announced that Messi would play his final game of his Paris career. Famous journalist Mark Doyle called Messi's Paris career "a complete fiasco", and the following is a full translation.
The Argentine may be the greatest player of all time, but sadly he has become a symbol of all the problems of the Paris Saint-Germain club.
On Thursday afternoon, Galti finally confirmed an open secret in football: Messi will make his last appearance for the club this weekend, against Clermont. It won't be an affectionate farewell.
Galti is delighted with the opportunity to work with "the best player of all time", and although Paris fans will not dispute such claims, they see the Argentine very differently. In their view, Messi is the embodiment of the Paris problem, the most tragic manifestation of the Qatari club's obsession with smashing money to sign a superstar.
Messi has scored 32 goals in two seasons and has proven his talent, but most Paris fans don't think they were lucky to have the chance to watch the best player of all time play, most of them think it's been taken advantage of.
"Messi didn't win anything for us"
They believe it is no coincidence that Messi, who has seen his best before the 2022 World Cup. The prevailing feeling is that Paris has become a springboard for Messi to play in the World Cup at his best.
After being eliminated by Bayern in Paris, Paris legend Rotten said angrily: "We watched his performance in Qatar, I saw his action, how he put his heart and soul into it. I don't care, after all, he is fighting for the country. But you should also respect the Capital Club, which is a club that keeps you in place and pays you a salary. ”
"Only Paris can give him that. It was clear that Paris fell at his feet because they thought Messi would help us win the Champions League. However, he didn't win anything for us! ”
Insignificant Ligue 1 champion
In Messi's two seasons, Paris won Ligue 1, but honestly so what? Just watch the fans' reactions to those inevitable victories. After being eliminated by Real Madrid, the fans were so disgusted that they did not attend the championship celebrations at the Parc des Princes afterwards. Some players thought it was disrespectful to the team, but no one dared to complain this season because they had a mediocre Champions League performance.
They know that in a club with such a lot of investment, higher standards must be followed. Champions League results can make or break a season, and so does Messi's transfer. Despite the commercial considerations, on the face of it, that's why he was signed: helping Paris win the Champions League for the first time.
That's why he joined Paris, which Messi believes offers him the best chance to win the Champions League for a fifth time. Actually, it's more because Paris is the only top team willing to meet his salary requirements.
The anger of the fans is understandable
Let's face it, Messi could have joined a better-run, stronger club to challenge the Champions League, but he thought more about money and fans realized that early on. They pointed out that the only time he left the game was under pressure from his friend and teammate Neymar.
Did some of the criticism he received go too far? There is no doubt about that. Some fans went too far in expressing their dissatisfaction with Messi and Neymar. However, Messi's investment has never been as big as the club's on him, meaning it's more of a deal than a transfer, which doesn't do the fans any good.
The Messi effect
On a commercial level, Paris has improved significantly. Armstrong, commercial director in Paris, revealed in December 2021, "We are feeling the impact on all areas of our business: from sponsorship to merchandise sponsorship to hospitality and ticketing. In the week since he joined, the club's social media users have increased by 20 million. ”
These impressive stats explain why Paris were initially keen to keep Messi playing another season. He is an integral part of a brand built on top players. One fan said, "Messi is more of a marketing deal than a sports signing. He ultimately represents our aversion to QSI projects over the past three or four years. ”
The farce is over
Former Argentina international Mascherano fiercely criticized the fans, "they did not realize how lucky Messi is to play for them" and "for these two years, they have not enjoyed Messi's performance, but have been criticizing him".
In a way, Messi is the wrong person to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When he arrived at the Parc des Princes in Paris, fans began to fully realize how stupid the way the team was built.
At the end of the day, though, Messi must take responsibility for Rothen's belief that the move was a "complete failure". The suspension of the World Cup winner by the club for going to Saudi Arabia for a business event is the best summary of this farce.
Good bye? More like getting out of trouble
In this sense, this is a rather modern thing, all for money from start to finish. Although he was forced to leave Camp Nou because of financial problems, no one forced Messi to join Paris.
It turned out to be a terrible decision, the worst decision of his career. When he left Barca, the media and fans lamented. On Saturday, though, at the Parc des Princes in Paris, there will be more boos than cheers.
After two difficult years, most Paris fans would not give Messi applause, and they finally got rid of it.