There won’t be any Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo playing in Europe next season, which will frustrate football fans there. Currently playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo will switch to them following the FIFA World Cup in 2022. After PSG’s final match of the season, Messi had an amicable parting from the club and became a free agent. The Argentine has since signed a significant deal to join MLS team Inter Miami.
Messi declared his departure from Europe and is recognised as one of the all-time greats in football history. He holds records for six European Golden Shoes and seven Ballon d’Or honours. The former Barcelona man also surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous mark for most goals scored in the top five European leagues.
Recently, Messi was asked if tying Ronaldo’s record was important to him. Speaking to the media, Messi commented: “No, just a little bit. As I said before, at this stage of my career, I don’t focus on that anymore. I focus on what I was able to achieve with Argentina and the club level where I was lucky enough to win important titles like the UCL or Club World Cup, leagues, cups.”
“I was lucky enough to win everything, and that’s really what will remain at the end of my career. Of course, you have the goals and records, but, I think, they are secondary apart from the fact that they are nice recognitions,” Messi further added.
The football superstar also guided Argentina to victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in December. In the championship game, Argentina defeated France, and Messi was named the best player in the competition. He will be hoping to move past the abuse he suffered from PSG supporters, who heckled him in his final match for the club and have done so in the past, before making his MLS debut.
Meanwhile, according to Le Parisien, Lionel Messi gave his buddy and former teammate Neymar (31) a trophy that he had received from Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain, prior to the former’s farewell match for Les Parisiens.
On the final day of the 2022–23 season, Messi’s PSG career came to an end after a 3-2 loss to Clermont Foot at the Parc des Princes. Even if the Parisian club was disappointed by the outcome, it didn’t matter because they had previously won back-to-back Ligue 1 championships.
Prior to the game, club president Al-Khelaifi entered the locker room and presented Messi with a golden trophy bearing the number 30, which La Pulga wore throughout his two-year tenure at the team. The club’s other summer departure, Sergio Ramos, also earned a similar prize.
Neymar, though, ended up holding this trophy. The piece was auctioned off by the Brazilian international artist in support of his organisation in Brazil, which aids underprivileged children. Messi’s golden trophy cost streamer Casimiro €160,000 to purchase. The streamer will also receive a supper with actress Deborah Secco and two complimentary nights in a mansion.
While Neymar’s future at PSG is also unknown, Messi has left the team and is expected to sign with MLS team Inter Miami. However, the arrival of Luis Enrique at Parc des Princes may be excellent news for the Brazilian, who collaborated with the Spaniard in Barcelona.
