After a Messi divorce, Leo can learn to love Paris

PARIS－There was once the romantic notion that whenever Leo Messi finally left Barcelona he would return to Argentina and play for Newell's Old Boys, the club he supported as a boy.

Paris Saint-Germain, a club transformed by the unfathomable state wealth of Qatar, is a rather less romantic destination for the player Barca fans hoped would never turn out for anyone else.

But on Wednesday, Messi was unveiled as a PSG player on a two-year contract, with an optional third. He said he was ready to help the team clinch its first ever Champions League title.

"That's why I am here. It's an ambitious club," Messi told a news conference. "You can see they're ready to fight for everything.

"My dream is to win another Champions League, and I think this is the ideal place to do that."

At the age of 34, Messi did not want to leave Camp Nou, certainly not in the manner he ultimately did. He had agreed a new five-year deal but the cash-strapped Catalan giant could not afford to make it happen. PSG could.

Messi is arguably the greatest of all time, even though he has never won the World Cup and claimed the last of his four Champions Leagues in 2015.

Winning that competition is all that matters to PSG and its Qatari owners and that is why it is paying Messi a reported 35 million euros ($41 million) a year.

Barcelona had already ruinously stretched its balance sheet to keep Messi, but it knew how special a player it had on its hands virtually from the moment he arrived from his native Rosario aged 13.

The story of his signing is legendary: Charly Rexach, adviser to club president Joan Gaspart, writing out his contract offer to the player on a napkin because he had no paper to hand.

He made his La Liga debut aged 17 in October 2004 in a 1-0 derby win against an Espanyol side featuring Mauricio Pochettino, Messi's fellow Argentine who will now coach him at PSG.

Barca fans had no doubts about what kind of player they had on their hands after 'La Pulga' ('The Flea') scored his first goal for the club in May 2005. After being on the pitch for just two minutes, he lifted the ball over the goalkeeper from a brilliant Ronaldinho assist only for the goal to be unfairly disallowed. Sixty seconds later he did the same thing again and this time the goal stood.

That same month, Messi won his first league title, Barcelona's first in six years. The rest is history.

He won his first Champions League in 2006. He was just 19 when he scored his first El Clasico hat-trick.

After Pep Guardiola took over as coach in 2008, Barcelona became one of the greatest club teams of all time, with Messi as its superstar.

Messi leaves Barcelona as its all-time top scorer with 672 goals in 778 appearances. His goal tally is a record for one club.

He is La Liga's top marksman of all time. The man with the most hat-tricks in Spain's top flight too.

A year ago Messi tried to leave Barcelona for free following its 8-2 annihilation by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

He was forced to stay after being told an exit clause in his contract had expired. He went on to top-score in La Liga with 30 goals.

He won 35 trophies with the Catalans, the last the Copa del Rey in April. The club of Cruyff is also now the club of Messi.

"We have eternal gratitude to him," said club president Joan Laporta. In 2019 Messi won his record sixth Ballon d'Or at a ceremony in Paris.

At 34, Messi still has so much to offer, for his new club and for his country.

Messi won Olympic gold with Argentina in 2008 but until last month his international career was best known for agonizing defeats, in the 2014 World Cup final and in three Copa America finals.

But in July he captained his country to victory over Brazil in the Copa America final at the Maracana.

Next year, the man brought to Paris by Middle East wealth will have perhaps his last shot at World Cup glory, in Qatar.

Mbappe expected to stay

Messi is set to form an exciting attacking triumvirate at PSG alongside Brazil star and former Barca teammate Neymar, and France international Kylian Mbappe.

The 22-year-old Mbappe has recently been linked with a move to Real Madrid. However, on Wednesday PSG chairman Nasser al-Khelaifi said Mbappe "had no reason to leave", adding: "He's a Paris player."

Messi insisted he was looking forward to playing alongside both Mbappe and Neymar, saying: "I'm going to play with the best players. It's very nice, it's incredible to be able to experience this."

AFP