Mauricio Pochettino reacted Friday afternoon to Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona. The Argentine coach of Paris Saint-Germain would not confirm or deny that he had a conversation with his compatriot on Thursday evening, as reported earlier on Friday by The Athletic. However, Pochettino does not shy away from flirting with Messi: he admits that the arrival of the attacker is ‘a possibility’ and that the club management is working hard to strengthen the selection.
Pochettino speaks to the press ahead of Saturday’s season opener against Troyes. “We are aware of what happened yesterday regarding Messi and Barcelona, but we are fully focused on beating Troyes. Nasser (Al-Khelaifi, chairman, ed.) and Leonardo (technical director) are working hard to get the team to improve,” Pochettino explains. “For clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, sometimes the opportunity to get such a great player comes along and sometimes it doesn’t. The club is working hard. If there is information, I’ll let you know.”
“In any case, we are evaluating the options and this is one of them. It is clear that it could happen, but our responsibility as coaches is to focus on the players who will be available against Troyes tomorrow,” said Pochettino, who asked whether he has indeed spoken to Messi, as reported in England. “I haven’t spoken to the English press,” is all he says. He laughingly denies that Kylian Mbappe would have to leave if Messi comes. Mbappé has only been under contract with PSG for one year and, according to Sport then transfer-free to Real Madrid. “The answer to that question is ‘no’.”
PSG appear to be the most serious candidate to sign Messi at the moment. Josep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City who has worked successfully with Messi in the past, will also be asked about the possible arrival of the Argentine at a press conference prior to the Community Shield game against Leicester City on Saturday. “We spent money on Jack Grealish (€117 million, ed.) and gave him number 10, because we have faith in him and we assumed Messi would stay at Barcelona. Messi is not part of our plans at the moment. “