‘One Club Man’ Messi Aims for UCL Championship in PSG Uniform

Lionel Messi (34), who is considered the best player in football history, wore the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) uniform, the strongest in France.

PSG announced on their website on the 11th (Korean time) that they had signed a two-year contract with Messi with a one-year extension option. Messi’s jersey number is 30.

As a result, Messi, who played 21 years as a youth and 17 seasons as a professional with only one team in FC Barcelona, ​​Spain, will be wearing a different club uniform for the first time on the ground.

“I wanted to start the next chapter of my football career in Paris as soon as possible,” Messi said. I want to play in the home game at Parc des Princes as soon as possible,” he said.

PSG President Nasser Al Khelaifi said: “We are delighted to announce that Messi has chosen our club.

The ‘history’ that PSG wants to make with Messi is to win the UEFA Champions League (UCL).

PSG, which was acquired by Qatar Sports Investments, the capital of the royal family of Qatar, in 2011, has been an overwhelming force in France thanks to an astronomical investment.

However, despite having several superstars such as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, he could not win the UCL. They reached the UCL final for the first time in the 2019-2020 season, but were only runners-up.

For PSG, Messi was chosen as the last ‘puzzle piece’ to win the UCL. PSG’s longing for the top of Europe coincided with Messi’s desire to continue proving himself on the competitive stage. “The club’s vision and my ambitions are the perfect match,” Messi said.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who once coached Heung-Min Son at Tottenham Hotspur, England, sits at PSG’s head coach.

The signing of Messi will be both an opportunity and a huge burden for Pochettino, who sits on a cushion of thorns after being eliminated from the semifinals at the UCL last season and losing four consecutive League 1 titles.

Messi scored 474 goals in the regular season alone and 672 in official matches for Barcelona.

In Barcelona, ​​he has won numerous championships, including 10 regular leagues, 7 King’s Cups, and 4 UCLs.

He has won the Ballon d’Or, given to the best soccer player, six times, the most in history.

Many fans expected and expected that Messi would remain as Barcelona’s ‘one club man’.

Messi, whose contract with Barcelona expired in June of this year, sought to renew his contract, but it was difficult for Barcelona, ​​who is suffering from financial difficulties due to the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), to manage the high-paid Messi.

Although Messi agreed to a salary cut in half, Barcelona finally gave up on his contract renewal on the 5th, and Messi said goodbye to his fans at a press conference in tears on the 8th. yunhap news