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Lionel Messi's contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) expires at the end of the season. As things stand, he looks unlikely to extend his contract.
The situation and the environment have not been conducive to their union of late and it was evidenced in the way Messi was treated by PSG fans during their 5-0 win over Ajaccio on Saturday.
PSG fans are divided on the legendary Argentinian. There was a section of fans who booed him every time the 35-year-old he got on the ball while the rest earnestly cheered him on. For all the fanfare it had initially invoked, Messi's move to PSG has not really worked out.
It has not played out to anybody's liking. Without further ado, let's take a look at five reasons why Messi's move to PSG was a bad one.
#5 The move damaged PSG's reputation
Ever since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) took over the club in 2011, Paris Saint-Germain have invested heavily in the transfer market. They have flexed their financial muscle incessantly and have managed to rope in some of the biggest stars in the game.
As a result, the Ligue 1 giants have been accused of buying success by signing Messi and this has damaged their reputation. Some people believe that the club is not playing fair, and this has made it more difficult for them to attract new fans.
Despite Messi's arrival in the summer of 2021, they remained a very unpopular club in France. Many people in France believe that the club is owned by a group of oligarchs who are using their wealth to buy success.
#4 Couldn't invest on the future
Signing Messi has been detrimental to PSG as far as their long-term future is concerned. PSG committed a significant amount of money to Messi, which have made it difficult for them to sign other top players in the future.
Additionally, Messi's arrival disrupted the team's balance and made it more difficult for the club to develop young players. As a result, PSG's long-term future is now in doubt.
Messi is a great player, but he is also 35 years old and as good as he continues to be, his powers are not going to remain the same for the foreseeable future.
#3 It increased their wage bill and enabled superstar culture
Messi is one of the highest-paid players in the world, and his signing has put a significant strain on PSG's wage bill. This made it difficult for the club to sign other top players and it has also made it more difficult to keep their current players happy.
PSG have far too many superstars in their squad and when big egos are involved in the dressing room, it can affect the team's chemistry. PSG have big stars like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verratti, Marquinhos, Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi, to name a few, on their payroll.
The superstar culture at the team is a reflection of the changing landscape of football. In the past, clubs were more focused on building a team with a strong collective identity. However, in recent years, clubs have become more focused on signing individual stars.
This is a trend that is likely to continue and it will be interesting to see how it affects the game of football in the years to come. It has clearly worked to Paris Saint-Germain's detriment if you look at how they've failed to achieve their primary goals in recent seasons.
#2 Messi's arrival disrupted the team's balance
Messi's inclusion in the team disrupted its balance. Messi is a great player, but he is also a very demanding player. He needs the ball to be played to him in certain areas of the pitch and he needs his teammates to make runs in behind. This can be difficult to accommodate and it can disrupt the team's overall balance.
He is also not a player who tracks back and helps out his team extensively during defensive transitions. As such, accommodating Messi in the starting lineup came with its own set of downsides that PSG haven't been able to cope well with when pitted against the best teams on the continent.
#1 It did not help them win the Champions League
This was the main reason why they signed Messi in the first place, but they have still not been able to win the trophy since he joined the club. In fact, they have not even made it to the final.
The Parisians had made it to the final of the Champions League in the 2019-20 season and that's as close as they've ever come to winning Europe's elite competition. Since Messi joined, they've gotten knocked out of the competition twice in the Round of 16.
