injured Inter Miami star talks tattoo, PSG, MLS, World Cup win and more
Soccer superstar Lionel Messi’s latest interview featured some comments about his time with Paris Saint-Germain that are already causing a stir on social media.
The Inter Miami forward’s interview with OLGA en Vivo, a Spanish livestreaming YouTube channel, aired Thursday morning. The interview covered a variety of topics, from Messi’s daily schedule to where all of his awards were kept.
However, the comments that have generated the most discussion so far are ones he made about his time with PSG, the French club he played for from 2021 until 2023, after his long stint with Barcelona and immediately prior to moving to Inter Miami earlier this year.
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Messi talks PSG, winning the World Cup
According to Messi, his move to the French club after nearly two decades with F.C. Barcelona did not go as expected.
Indeed, the Argentine star heard boos and whistles from PSG fans at many home matches at Parc des Princes during player introductions while his French teammate, Kylian Mbappe, got loud cheers.
Still, Messi noted, it wasn’t all bad while he played for PSG.
“I always say things happen for a reason,” Messi said in Spanish. “It wasn’t always good, but I won the World Cup while there.”
The only problem was that Argentina had defeated France in penalty kicks at the 2022 World Cup Final, which didn’t help the Argentine forward’s reputation among the French fans of his club.
Messi said in his interview that he was the only Argentine player not to receive recognition from his club for winning the World Cup that year. However, he did make sure to note that it was understandable, considering that he had “prevented” France from winning the World Cup for a second straight time. All the while, he still maintained a good relationship with Mbappe, the French star, and everyone else within the club.
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Messi on his awards
Over the course of his career, Messi has won the Ballon d’Or, the award given to the best soccer player in the world, a record seven times. He also holds the record for winning the most European Golden Boots, given to the leading goalscorer of all top European national leagues, of which he has six, all with Barcelona.
If you visited Messi’s house, you’d never know it. According to him, all of the awards he’s won are still in Barcelona, at the team’s museum.
Messi’s leg tattoo
He’ll always be a part of Barcelona’s club history, as Barcelona will always be a part of him. Messi pointed out the tattoo that spans the entire lower half of his right leg prominently features FC Barcelona’s logo.
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Messi injury updates
On Tuesday night, Messi returned to action with Inter Miami after a brief stint away to play with the Argentina national team in World Cup qualifiers. Before the first half was through, the forward was substituted out of the game.
Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said that Argentina had gotten him checked for an injury while he was with the national team but had found nothing. However, prior to Messi’s exit from Miami’s matchup with Toronto FC, he seemed to be battling discomfort in his right leg.
According to Martino, Messi will miss Miami’s next game against Orlando City on Sunday.
I do not think there is anything serious or muscle injuries,” Martino said Wednesday. “I think it is just fatigue.”
Even without their biggest star Inter Miami defeated Toronto FC handily, 4-0, with all four scores coming after Messi’s departure.
