On Wednesday morning, PSG’s (Paris Saint-Germain) social media channels confirmed that Argentina star Lionel Messi arrived in Paris. It’s reported that he had officially returned to the French capital to report back for his club duties.
At the end of December, sources said that Messi would pen a one-season extension to his current deal in the French capital, which expires in the summer.
It’s confirmed that Messi will meet with PSG officials to iron out the final details before committing to a new deal. The deal is to ensure that he remains at Parc des Princes beyond the end of the season.
Before he arrived in Paris, the player was on a break after his World Cup victory. In one interview, Paris Saint-Germain boss Christophe Galtier stated, “Due to his victory and the celebrations in Argentina, we decided that he was going to cut until January 1. He will join us on the 2nd or 3rd to resume competition with us.”
When Messi did arrive in Paris, he was welcomed with applause and given a guard of honour. The moment was captured on video and quickly went viral when shared on Twitter.
The footage showed the player entering the training center with a line of players applauding him before an official gave him the trophy. The post has the caption “A guard of honour for our world champion!” and has since gained over 12 million views.
Une 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐞 𝐝'𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫 pour notre champion du monde ! 👏❤️💙#BravoLeo pic.twitter.com/xsRHdfVbQS
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) January 4, 2023
Reportedly, Messi said he was ‘touched’ by the welcome and ‘ready for everything that is to come’ for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, teammate Kylian Mbappé is enjoying a club-sanction ten days off – after returning to training just three days after he scored a hat-trick for France in the World Cup final.
Messi’s return to the Paris club happened at an important team. For the first time this season, the club lost against Lens last weekend. As a result, PSG’s lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table has been cut to just four points.
Before this tournament, Messi gave a superb performance for the club with 12 goals and 14 assists in 19 appearances across all competitions. It was in 2021 that Messi joined PSG on a two-season deal with an option for another year after having spent his entire professional career with Barcelona.
The team’s next game is against Chateauroux in the French Cup on Friday. Messi’s first chance to play in front of a big crowd at the Parc des Princes comes against Angers in Ligue 1 next Wednesday.
Following his World Cup win, it has been suggested that Messi’s success on the international stage has sealed his status as the greatest player of all time. Because of this, the 35-year-old is considered the leading contender for the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
So far, reports say that the Argentina squad is pushing Messi to stick around for the 2026 World Cup, but that is not Messi’s priority right now. His next priority is to carry his form back to club level with Les Parisiens and settle his future.
