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Troyes defender Adil Rami believes Lionel Messi will be a positive influence on Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) this season. Mbappe was consistently linked with Real Madrid over the last few days of the summer transfer window. However, negotiations between PSG and Los Blancos broke down, leaving him at the Parc des Princes for at least another season.
In their bid to get Mbappe invested in the club's project, PSG went on a signing spree this summer. The club brought in the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Ramos. But their most important signing of the summer was Lionel Messi.
While Messi and Mbappe have yet to establish an effective partnership upfront, Adil Rami believes the Argentine could give "so much" to Mbappe. Rami also revealed he was happy to see the young Frenchman stay on at PSG this summer.
Speaking to the Ligue 1 website (via Marca), Rami said:
"I am a big fan of Kylian Mbappe and I am happy he stayed at PSG because Messi is going to give him so much. Honestly, if Mbappe understands his role then the team will hurt others a lot."
Rami, a World Cup winner with France, also recalled his time in Spain where he came up against Messi and Barcelona on multiple occasions. The 35-year-old turned out for Sevilla and Valencia in La Liga, facing the Blaugrana on 12 occasions.
Rami was never on the winning side, however. He spoke about his battles with Messi during that time.
"Granted, I never won, but there were draws and [chuckling] I got four or five shirts from him (Messi). He was too strong, back then he was always behind my back. He'd be offside and then he would move back to touch the halfway line and then go again."
The Frenchman believes Messi has changed his game now, choosing to drop deeper and construct plays rather than be in the box to finish them off. Rami said:
"Now he's more of a passer, so it's easier for defenders as we can wait. I don't think he's able to do his slalom moves so much."
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe yet to fire together for PSG this season
Lionel Messi is yet to fully acclimatize to life in France. The former Barcelona forward has scored just once in five matches for PSG. Messi has also struggled to link-up on a regular basis with his attacking partners Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe, on the other hand, has gotten off to a good start in the 2021-22 season. The French youngster has managed four goals and five assists in nine matches for PSG so far. Mbappe also netted a penalty for France in their UEFA Nations League semi-final win over Belgium yesterday (October 7).
It is also worth noting that the duo combined to devastating effect for Messi's first PSG goal. The Argentine exchanged passes with Mbappe before firing into the top right corner during PSG's 2-0 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League.
