Lionel Messi leaves PSG, meets rival Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia
Lionel Messi’s two-year stint with French team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is over, and he’s about to join Saudi Arabia, where his longtime rival Christiano Ronaldo plays. This comes just a few months after Messi led Argentina to win the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Messi’s fans and admirers put a stop to the debate after the Qatar 2022 World Cup by saying that he is the best football player in history or the best of all time (GOAT).
Lionel Messi’s football career in Europe, on the other hand, came to an abrupt end last week when PSG banned him for going to Saudi Arabia without permission.
Cristiano Ronaldo, a forward for Nassr from Portugal, watches Al-Nassr play Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on May 8, 2023, at the al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh. — AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese forward for Nassr, watches the game between Al-Nasr and Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on May 8, 2023, at the al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh. — AFP
He scored 31 goals in 71 games for the French champions and is likely to win Ligue 1 for a second year in a row later this month. However, he has not been able to help PSG win their first Champions League game, as they have lost their last two games.
Barcelona wanted to bring the 35-year-old back to Camp Nou, where he won 10 La Liga titles and 4 Champions League titles before leaving in tears in 2021.
Even though Saudi Arabia is accused of using sports to draw attention away from its human rights record, Riyadh will be able to say that their domestic league has two of the best football players of the modern age.
Ronaldo plays for Al Nassr, but a source close to the talks who told AFP that Messi’s move to Saudi Arabia was a “done deal” didn’t say which club the Argentine will join.
The World Cup was a success.
For a long time, the fact that Messi didn’t have a World Cup winner’s award was the main reason why he couldn’t beat Pele and Diego Maradona in football.
But when Argentina beat France in a nail-biting World Cup game in Doha last year, the case was surely over.
Messi won 37 club titles, seven Ballon d’Or awards, and six European Golden Boots over the course of his 30-year career.
There has been a Copa America championship, an Olympic gold medal, and a list of scoring and statistical marks that may never be broken.
When the Argentine forward played in the World Cup, he scored twice as his team fought to a 3-3 tie in extra time and then took the lead on penalties.
Kylian Mbappe, a French forward for Paris Saint-Germain, reacts during a French L1 football game between ES Troyes AC and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on May 7, 2023, at the Stade de l’Aube in Troyes, in the northeast of France. — AFP
Kylian Mbappe, a French forward for Paris Saint-Germain, reacts during a French L1 football game between ES Troyes AC and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on May 7, 2023, at the Stade de l’Aube in Troyes, in the northeast of France. — AFP
Even Kylian Mbappe’s hat trick couldn’t stop Messi from meeting his fate on a night that seemed to be set in stone.
The question of whether Messi is really the “greatest ever” is, of course, as pointless as the answer is personal.