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Photos from Lionel Messi's first training at PSG

Olufemi David OLUFEMI DAVID - Friday, August 13, 2021

Lionel Messi has had his first training with his new teammates at PSG after moving to the club from Barcelona.

On Thursday, August 12, the Argentine superstar trained with his teammates, and also met with Kylian Mbappe having been hotly anticipated by the media. He also met a long-time rival in Sergio Ramos.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner joined Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract with PSG on Tuesday, just days after Barcelona announced he was leaving the club he joined 21 years ago.

Messi's deal is worth £25m per year after tax - plus bonuses - and includes a £25m signing-on fee, while it also follows the summer arrivals of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos and Georginio Wijnaldum at the Parc des Princes.

See full photos below.

Lionel Messi Gets Heroes Welcome In France

Olufemi David OLUFEMI DAVID - Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Lionel Messi Gets Heroes Welcome In France

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi received a hero's welcome after flying to France Tuesday to join Paris Saint Germain (PSG) following his shock departure from Barcelona.

The agreement to sign the 34-year-old Argentine is a major coup for wealthy PSG, who will add one of the best soccer players of all time to an already formidable front line that includes Brazil's Neymar and young Frenchman Kylian Mbappe.

Wearing a T-shirt that read "This is Paris," Messi beamed and waved at scores of fans who had come to greet him at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of the French capital after his flight from Barcelona.

Chanting "Messi, Messi, Messi," the fans cheered and let off firecrackers.

"It's going to be mad. After all, it's a legend who is arriving," said Florent Chauveau, a PSG fan who has been back and forth daily to the airport since Sunday in the hope of seeing Messi arrive.

Messi gave no details of the deal, which was reached days after Barcelona said it could not afford to keep the midfielder because of Spain's La Liga's fair play rules.

BREAKING!! Lionel Messi Sets To Join New Club, Complete Medical Today

Olufemi David OLUFEMI DAVID - Monday, August 09, 2021

Departing Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi is set to undergo a medical at Paris Saint-Germain, according to L’Equipe.

Messi, 34, has already said his goodbyes in a final press conference at Camp Nou on Sunday.

The 6-time Ballon d’Or winner is now expected to fly to Paris, French capital, before undergoing a medical either this evening or on Monday morning.

The report added that PSG boss, Mauricio Pochettino spoke to the Argentine superstar directly to convince him to move to France.

Barcelona announced that they would no longer re-sign the 34-year-old after 21 years at Camp Nou.

MUST READ: How Messi’s Transfer To PSG May Affect Mbappe And Pogba Deals

Olufemi David OLUFEMI DAVID - Saturday, August 07, 2021

The Ligue 1 giants contacted Messi on Thursday, following the shock announcement from Barcelona that he would not be signing a new deal with them.

According to ESPN, Lionel Messi’s imminent move to Paris Saint-Germain, could impact the futures of Kylian Mbappe and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.

The Ligue 1 giants contacted Messi on Thursday, following the shock announcement from Barcelona that he would not be signing a new deal with them.

PSG sporting Director, Leonardo and chairman, Nasser al Khelaifi have been locked in negotiations with Messi’s father, Jorge.

Messi,joining PSG would increase the likelihood of Mbappe signing a new long-term deal with the club. The 22-year-old is into the final year of his current contract.

This would damage Real Madrid’s hopes of signing Mbappe on a free transfer next summer.

The 34-year-old’s arrival in France, would also mean PSG has end their interest in signing Manchester United midfielder, Pogba, which means he would run down his contract at the Premier League side before becoming a free agent next summer.

PSG closing in on a deal for Lionel Messi after forward talks to Pochettino

Olufemi David OLUFEMI DAVID - Saturday, August 07, 2021

Club discussing financial fair play, contract length and salary

Barcelona president explains why Messi deal was impossible

Paris Saint-Germain are closing in on a deal to sign Lionel Messi after making progress in negotiations with the forward’s representatives. The club have been pushing for the Argentina international since Thursday, when Barcelona announced he would be leaving. Messi’s father and agent, Jorge, is expected in Paris to talk directly over a contract that will be valid until June 2023 with an option to extend the agreement. PSG are now confident they can bring the 34-year-old to Paris.

Talks are focused on ensuring any deal stays within the boundaries of financial fair play, and agreeing a contract length and salary. Messi had accepted a substantial pay cut to about €20m a season to stay at Barcelona but his deal was due to run for five years, ending just after he turns 39.

PSG expect discussions to continue at least until the end of Saturday. They hope the presence at the club of an Argentinian manager, Mauricio Pochettino, and Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Neymar will help to smooth a deal. Messi has spoken to Pochettino since he was told by Barcelona that his time there had to end and Neymar is working to convince Messi to come to Paris. The PSG dressing room is now “convinced” that Messi will play for Pochettino’s side.

Messi turned down PSG and Manchester City some months ago, but Barcelona said financial restrictions have prevented them from renewing the contract of a player who has officially been a free agent since the end of June. PSG believe signing Messi – and partnering him with Neymar – would drive up their commercial revenues, and that will be factored into financial fair play considerations.

The prospect of City moving again for Messi was not completely ruled out by Pep Guardiola, despite the club buying Jack Grealish for £100m and wanting Tottenham’s Harry Kane. “Right now it is not in our thoughts, absolutely not,” the manager said. Asked whether he could switch sights to Messi in the event of Kane proving an impossibility, he replied: “I didn’t reflect on it, honestly, because it was yesterday. We have a strategy at the club for a long time and we are going to follow it. What is going to happen, nobody knows … Right now it looks difficult. I don’t know, honestly.”

Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, said Messi did not want to leave but they had failed to agree a contract that would comply with La Liga’s rules on salary limits. Even Messi’s departure would not solve Barcelona’s financial crisis, with Laporta revealing losses of €487m last season – more than double those forecast. “The situation is worse than we thought and it was already bad,” he said.

Laporta said Messi had agreed in principle first to a two-year deal with payments over five years then to a five-year deal – although the expectation was that he would probably play only two. Both times, Laporta said, Barcelona thought they would fit within La Liga’s salary limit.

He admitted he had harboured hopes of “flexibility” from La Liga, but he did not disguise the gravity of the situation nor openly attack the Spanish football authorities, reserving most blame for the board from whom he inherited what he called a “calamitous” situation six months ago.

“Leo wanted to stay,” he said. “We wanted him to stay. Unfortunately we have reached a situation in which we have no room for manoeuvre: 110% of our total income is accounted for by salaries. We have not been able to fit the agreements reached with Messi within the league’s financial controls. We did not want to put the club at more risk.”

Amid the stalemate, with Messi awaiting developments in Ibiza, a solution appeared to have emerged when La Liga announced a €2.7bn deal with the investment fund CVC on Wednesday. That promised an immediate cash injection for clubs in return for a 10% share of the league’s business. The following day, Messi travelled to Barcelona expecting his contract could finally be signed off. Instead, Barcelona announced he would not be staying.

Barcelona had been due €270m, of which they would be allowed to put 15% towards squad costs. That €40.5m would have enabled the club to see through the Messi deal but Laporta refused to accept a deal that he said would “mortgage our TV rights for 50 years”.

The league’s president, Javier Tebas, denied the agreement meant mortgaging the club for 50 years but Laporta said club executives had spoken to CVC and failed to receive the “guarantees” they sought. He also said the amount CVC is paying was “far inferior to the value of 10% of the league”. It is understood, too, the deal would impact on the Super League project to which Barcelona and Real Madrid cling despite its collapse.

“I could not accept an agreement like that,” Laporta said. “I had to do what was right for the club. The only way to register Leo was an operation that we have no interest in doing. The only way was to mortgage our TV rights for 50 years and I not prepared to do that for anyone.”

When it was put to him that the CVC deal could go through without Barcelona’s backing and there was little sense in turning down the money, he said: “This question is up in the air at the moment. I don’t know what CVC will do. Real Madrid also don’t agree and they are preparing a case against it. We’re not at all clear [it is a good idea]. We want to talk to CVC. We can oppose the agreement and we cannot accept money now that will affect us in the future. We can still defend ourselves.”

Laporta said that Messi’s departure would see the percentage of income spent on player salaries drop to about 95% – a long way from the recommended 65-70%. Sales remain vital, as do salary cuts, but Laporta said they were proving problematic. He could not confirm all the summer signings would be registered, only that he hoped so, explaining that for every euro of expenditure Barcelona wanted to add they would need to save four.

Laporta said he did not want to “generate false hopes” regarding Messi, with many supporters clinging to the possibility that the situation could be resolved should Barcelona somehow complete sales in the coming days or Messi accept a minimal salary to stay. Laporta avoided saying Messi’s departure was definitive but insisted that “right now” Barcelona must live in “the real world”, describing scenarios of salvation as “hypothetical”. He said Messi had “done all he could” and “we now have to start the post-Messi era”.

Labels : Lionel Messi