Messi's high five: I came to PSG to win the Champions League again

Paris Saint-Germain’s star striker Lionel Messi admitted hoisting a fifth Champions League title was a compelling reason for his move to the French capital during the summer.

Eyes on the prize: Lionel Messi told Spanish media that winning the Champions League for a fifth time was his main motivation for his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. Franck Fife AFP

Messi, 34, won European club football’s most prestigious honour four times with Barcelona between 2006 and 2015.

The Spanish giants almost reached the final in 2019. In the first leg of their semi-final against Liverpool at the Camp Nou, they won 3-0 with Messi scoring a spectacular free kick.

However, Liverpool blew them away 4-0 in the second leg at Anfield. The Merseysiders went on to win the title at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur.

In 2020, Bayern Munich pulverized Barcelona 8-2 in the last eight of a competition reconfigured due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And in 2021, Barcelona were eliminated in the last-16 by Messi's present employers.

Motive

In an interview with the Catalan daily newspaper Sport, Messi said: “PSG have a great team and I want it to be even better by winning the Champions League.

“PSG have come close a couple of times and this season we are among the favourites along with other teams such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid.”

Interestingly, Messi failed to mention his old club as among the frontrunners for the 2022 crown.

In this season’s competition, Barcelona lie third in Group E after only one win from their three games. 

Struggle

The side is also struggling in La Liga. Barcelona are ninth with 16 points from their 11 matches and are looking for a new coach after the dismissal of Ronald Koeman last week.

The 58-year-old Dutchman had been in charge at the Camp Nou since August 2020.

Former skipper Xavi Hernandez is expected to replace Koeman.

And the 41-year-old Spaniard could get assistance from one of his old wingmen.

"I'd like to be a technical secretary at some point,” Messi told Sport.

“I've always said that I'd like to be able to help Barcelona in any way I can … being useful and contributing to the club's success.

"If there's a possibility, I'd like to go back to contribute in some way, because this is the club I love and I'd like it to continue to be good, to continue to grow and to continue to be one of the best in the world.”

Sentiment

Such allegiances and nostalgia might not endear Messi to the PSG faithful who are still waiting for flashes of the pyrotechnics that won him the Ballon D’Or as the world’s best player on six occasions.

Messi has fired blanks in five outings in Ligue 1 even though PSG lead the French top flight by eight points after 12 games.

However, the Argentine has scored three times in his three Champions League appearances. A brace against RB Leipzig on 19 October helped PSG recover from a 2-1 deficit to win 3-2 at the Parc des Princes.

Messi is a doubt for Wednesday night’s return game in Leipzig due to a knee injury that forced him to leave the fray at half-time during Friday night’s game against Lille.

Time

Kylian Mbappé who missed the 2-1 victory could return to the line-up after recovering from an ear infection.

“I’ve been here in Paris for two months,” added Messi. “I haven’t played in all the matches so it will take a little time. I knew Neymar before I got here and I’ve played with a few of the other players for Argentina.

“It was a bit strange with Kylian at the beginning because we didn’t know if he was going to stay or go to Real Madrid.

“But fortunately he has stayed and we’re getting to know each other off and on the pitch.”