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Patrice Evra has suggested that Lionel Messi's arrival at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) does not guarantee them Champions League glory this season.
Evra has claimed that one player is not enough for an entire team to win the coveted trophy. The former Manchester United full-back believes the mental fortitude of entire team matters in winning European club football's biggest prize.
Speaking in an interview with Le Parisien (via PSGTalk.com), Patrice Evra said:
“They recruited Messi, but he is not the one who will make them win the Champions League. It is a collective, a mental state of the entire team as a whole. It is not easy at all; I played five finals and lost four.”
It is worth noting that Patrice Evra has been one of the unluckiest players when it comes to the Champions League. The Frenchman has played in five finals but has lost four of them - in 2004, 2009, 2011 and 2015. Three of those defeats were against Lionel Messi's Barcelona.
The only time Evra won the Champions League was with Manchester United in 2008, defeating fellow Premier League side Chelsea in the final. They defeated Messi and Barcelona in the semi-final that season.
The UEFA Champions League is widely regarded as the final frontier for PSG. The Parisians have failed to win Europe's premier club football competition despite their big-money Qatari takeover back in 2011.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have advanced to the knockout rounds of this season's Champions League. However, the Parisian outfit have been drawn against Real Madrid, a team Lionel Messi is very familiar with.
During his spell at Barcelona, the Argentine superstar scored 26 goals in 45 appearances against Los Blancos.
Lionel Messi has been one of PSG's best players in the Champions League
Despite his shortcomings in Ligue 1, Lionel Messi has been one of PSG's better players in the Champions League. The 34-year-old forward scored five goals in five games in the group stage.
Messi scored his first goal for the club in a 2-0 win over Premier League champions Manchester City at the Parc des Princes. He later scored a brace against RB Leipzig in a 3-2 win. The 34-year-old forward also scored a brace against Club Brugge.
Messi's overall record for Paris Saint-Germain this season stands at six goals and four assists in 16 games across all competitions. It is worth noting that the former Barcelona superstar has scored just once in Ligue 1 so far this season.
