Lionel Messi revealed at Paris Saint-Germain – live updates | football

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10.04 AM BST10: 04

“For practical reasons,” Cyril R emailed, “PSG players tend to live in the western suburbs, where the training ground is (Saint-Germain-en-Laye). Neymar lives in Bougival and Di Maria in Neuilly-sur-Seine. I think Messi won’t stay away from them.”

Ah thanks.

10.03am BST10:03

The crowd began to sing – understandably, all they wanted to do was support their team. But for the rest of us, there’s more going on, and none of it remotely building.

9.58am BST09:58

“Do you think signing Messi from Paris Saint-Germain is a kind of overreaction to the Ligue 1 loss to Lille?” asks Gary Byrne.

Absolutely. Messi’s presence is a dream for owners who are desperate for legitimacy and for whom money is nothing, let alone before their country hosts the World Cup which he is so often ridiculed. As time goes on, they are still scrambling to win the Champions League, but they would have signed him even if they had done so in the last 39 years in a row.

9.56 AM BST09:56

Since we’re talking about Paris, let me recommend Les Misérables, Ladj Ly’s great movie about life in the suburbs. It’s on Netflix and definitely worth your time.

Les Misérables review – A lively tale of two cities

9.54am BST09:54

Outside, people are having fun.

Photo: Yves Hermann/Reuters

9.52am BST09:52

I was about to see the pictures out there for this splendor, but before I entered the search term, this was at the top – this country of nature – so it’s my duty to share. I love Wham’s Pub.

TV personality Timmy Mallett “Chief Ice Lolly Tester” has been hired by an Icelandic supermarket, for a new batch of ice candy. Release date: Wednesday, August 11, 2021. PA Photo. In a new online video series, Mallet will review Lolly’s ice cream range of exclusive Barratt retro desserts at the supermarket, including Wham, Foam Bananas, Sherbet Fountain, Flumps, Fruit Salad, and Black Jack flavors. Photography: David Barry/Penn

9.49am BST09:49

Where do Paris players tend to live? In the city or in the suburbs? I guess they might imagine the space being away from the center, but if you can be in the city – and I dare Macy’s – it sounds like something hard to turn down.

9.48 am BST09: 48

It looks like Messi is in the tunnel, but we haven’t spotted him yet. More news as I get it.

9.41 am BST09: 41

We are now watching a rework of Messi writing his name. seriously. I’d like to see from above, please, and can we also get an inverted angle and then paste lines on the screen to verify it’s on the line?

9.40 am BST09: 40

They have slipped into French now and if you ask me about it they get dizzy. Ah, back to English to tell us that Paris is the most popular tourist destination in the world. I didn’t know it, but I’m not surprised because I remember being told that Versailles gets more visitors than Buckingham Palace, despite not being in the capital or having a royal family for a long period of time.

9.34am BST09:34

Tell you what, this must be a sensation for the rest of the Paris squad. Paredes and Di Maria are not teammates with Messi for Argentina, but the others suddenly started playing with him all of a sudden. It’s like going to work and finding sweets “in the usual place” every day.

9.31am BST09:31

Just looking at the ages of the participants, Neymar is 29, so he should have two more years of being the player we know, while Messi, despite 34, is still very useful. He may not be quite as quick with the ball running, but his passes are better now than they were at his peak and finish, especially from about 18-25 yards, maybe too, and so are his free kicks.

9.26am BST09:26

I wonder if Messi has any other offers, or if he enjoyed them. Part of me is amazed that he was so eager to move to Ligue 1 – I doubt many players would choose it over Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga and the Premier League. Presumably Paris gave him the most money, but I’m surprised he doesn’t want to play where football is more fun – and I doubt that’s where it ended up, so many seasons come down to some big games in Europe. In any case, Corona appears to be rebalancing the global game in favor of the oil clubs, Paris, Chelsea and Man City – realistically, only Man United and Bayern Munich have the resources and reputation to stop them from wading while everyone else, the Spanish giants in particular, is sick.

9.21 am BST09: 21

The announcer continues to point out “Ney,” as if they were boys; Maybe they are. But imagine growing up in a Scottish stadium called Nae ma.

9.19 am BST09:19

There are fans outside the stadium and Omar da Fonseca, an Argentine who played a season for Paris in 85-86, sang as Messi. Ah, we’ve come wide and there’s already a lot of people out there, wearing it.

9.17am BST09:17

I still wonder if Paris has had enough in midfield – watching them over the past few seasons, this has been the obvious weakness of the team. But if Angel di Maria has legs, then he, along with Verratti and Wijnaldum, is no different from Bran Flakes.

9.14 am BST09:14

But Mauricio Pochettino. He was fired from Tottenham having now won, got a job in Paris and avoided winning the league but takes a role in the Champions League…and now he’s managing perhaps the greatest player ever. Imagine if he managed to repeat! It will be interesting to see, however, to what extent the pressing and storied running that has worked so well at Spurs – are Messi and Neymar capable of that anymore? – Whether Messi is on the right and Mbappe in the middle or vice versa.

9.09am BST09:09

Thanks Tom and good morning everyone. “Lionel Messi plays for Paris Saint-Germain” is one of those rare and bizarre sentences that makes you say “You what?!” and “Of course!” Both are the antithesis of football and the apotheosis of football. Unlike the majority of our greatest footballers – Garrincha, Pele, Best, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona and Ronaldinho – Messi represents little to no good in football, so Parc des Princes is the perfect setting for him. Of course, supporters of Paris Saint-Germain and the city of Paris give the club a unique identity, but for the majority of others, this means nothing more than that. But here we are, here we are

9.01 am BST09:01

Preamble

Morning everyone, and welcome, as one of the most brilliant/decadent/incredible/frustrating transition stories of our time, finished at the Parc des Princes where Lionel Messi is revealed to Lionel Messi by PSG. The Argentine striker signed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday worth a net worth of around €35m a year, with an option for another year, following his tear-stained departure from Barcelona on Sunday. Today, it will be officially revealed at a press conference starting at 10 AM GMT. Daniel will be here soon for all the news and feedback.

Meanwhile, here’s the Inner General:

Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain: The inside story of how he sealed an amazing deal

Updated at 9.06 am GMT

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