PSG owns a “treasure” named Messi.
Right at the time of the 2022 World Cup, European media said that PSG was confident in keeping Messi long-term. President Nasser Al-Khelaifi is satisfied with having Messi in the squad. The 48-year-old Qatari businessman appreciates Messi’s professionalism and talent.
Le Parisien said PSG always have goodwill to want Messi to stay at the team and are ready to give the right to decide the future for this player. The final decision depends on the Argentine superstar.
Professional fulcrum
Before attending the World Cup, Messi was in impressive form with 12 goals and 14 assists in 19 appearances in all competitions for PSG. After the tournament in Qatar, M10 completed the entire collection of titles with the prestigious gold trophy.
FIFA called Messi the best player of all time (GOAT: Greatest of All Time) after helping Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final on the evening of December 18 (Hanoi time). M10 made a big contribution with 7 goals and 3 assists in the whole tournament. Even the disadvantage of shooting 11 m has been thoroughly overcome by this 35-year-old superstar. He succeeded 6 out of 7 times to stand in front of the penalty spot in the World Cup 2022 (including both penalty shootouts).
Messi will return to Paris as world champion. No recognition is more valuable than lifting the prestigious gold trophy. PSG understands that they own the greatest player in football history. With a team always hungry for glory, Messi will give wings to their ambitions.
Messi left a strong professional mark in the 5th World Cup he attended in his career.
Leaving behind the unimpressive 2021/22 season, Messi is having the happiest time since leaving Barcelona. “Everyone at PSG loves and admires him. Messi is also an inspiration to the players in the team,” coach Christophe Galtier once shared in August.
In the PSG dressing room, Messi also gradually shows a great influence as Mbappe. A star who has just won the World Cup and has won most of the major titles will receive more respect than a player who has criticized the coach’s tactics and is favored by the management.
PSG’s difficulty
After PSG’s 7-2 victory over Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League group stage on October 26, UEFA reporter Ian Holyman affirmed that “Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar are the best attacking trio in the world right now”. Each individual in the MNM trio are big names and mainstays in the national team.
But combining this trio smoothly so as not to make anyone feel dissatisfied is a difficult problem for coach Galtier or even his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino.
The world media share the same opinion that Argentina won the 2022 World Cup thanks to the fact that 10 warriors in the team volunteered to devote themselves to Messi, in addition to the shine of this 35-year-old superstar. That means if M10 walks on the field, Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez or Rodrigo De Paul will run for M10 and perform pressing phases.
At PSG, this is unlikely. The French football team possesses many strong personalities. Neymar and Mbappe are not the type of players who like to submit to others at this stage of their careers. As for Mbappe, he was criticized at the beginning of the season for his selfish play, not passing the ball to his teammates. Defender Dani Alves once admitted that “Mbappe can score 150 goals if he cooperates with two seniors”.
It is difficult for Neymar or Mbappe to run to defend Messi on the field. PSG’s attack is very strong, but there are still weaknesses, even quite obvious. That is the poor pressing ability of all three. On a beautiful day, the MNM trio can dance in front of the opponent’s defense. But when it comes to teams that play well and counter-attack well, PSG will have a hard time.
In addition, PSG also face the risk of keeping Messi. It may create a conflict of interest with Mbappe, whose contract has just been extended until 2025. The two have not had a major conflict at PSG, but the power conflict between the two sides is always smoldering and waiting to explode. . This could harm the Paris team at any time. This headache is in need of an answer from the PSG leadership team.
Duy Luan | 05:20 12/22/2022
