Lionel Messi was introduced to the public on Wednesday morning as an asset to Paris Saint-Germain. The 34-year-old attacker arrived in Paris on Tuesday, passed the medical examination and subsequently signed a two-year contract. Messi gave a press conference at the Parc des Princes, in which he elaborated on his choice for PSG and left open when he can make his debut.
The press conference was kicked off by PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. “I am very proud to have Lionel Messi next to me as our player. Historic for our club, for the football world. Everyone knows Leo. He is the only footballer to have won the Ballon d’Or six times. He is magical. It’s great for our supporters,” said Al-Khelaïfi. “I remember the first time at the club. Ten years ago. People wondered what we would do. We showed great ambition with our football project.”
“I am proud where we are now. It’s no secret that we really wanted him and I’m proud that we made it,” the PSG chairman continued. “I want to thank Leo, your father, your team and our people who made this possible. I am grateful to everyone who believes in our project. It’s a great moment for this club, but we haven’t won anything yet. It is only the beginning of the next phase. I’ve got someone sitting next to me here who’s won a lot of awards and I’m sure he’s going to win more here. We have great players and a great coach. One of the best in the world, for me the very best in fact, so I’m sure that will lead to success.”
“I want to thank the chairman for his warm welcome,” Messi took over from Al-Khelaïfi. “I am very happy. I know for a few days now that I had to leave Barcelona. That’s hard on me because it’s such a big part of my life, but coming here brings immense satisfaction. I am very excited to get started here. Everything has gone so fast. I want to meet the coach and my new teammates as soon as possible.”
“It was a difficult situation and I want to thank PSG for everything they have done for me. I am very grateful for that. I want to keep winning trophies and hope we can do that together. The warm welcome from the Parisians was the icing on the cake. We are going to work hard to achieve the club’s goals,” Messi continues. It remains to be seen when he will make his debut. The Argentine branch of ESPN reported that Messi would like to play against Strasbourg next Saturday, but that PSG is slowing him down due to his fitness.
“I don’t know when I can play my first game yet. I haven’t played for the past month and I will have to prepare on my own,” Messi responded to questions about his debut. Messi also looked back on the past few weeks. “Everything that has happened in the past few weeks has been tough. It went so fast. This is a new step for my career and for my family. I am very happy to be here. In the past week I have felt every possible emotion.”
“Without the conversations having even started, people were already on the street. I want to thank the people for that, I hope it will be a great year. PSG have been interested from day one, even though I thought it would be difficult under these circumstances. I want to thank the club for the work that has been done and the welcome I have had,” Messi emphasized. He says he dreams of winning another Champions League. “It’s not easy to win the Champions League, it comes down to details. It’s a tough competition and PSG know that. It is the competition with the best players and that makes it difficult to win. I don’t know what to do, but you also have to be a little lucky. PSG have been very close in recent years and I’m very eager to help win the tournament.”