Saturday will mark two months from the day that
Lionel Messi
completed the last level he needed to become the best footballer in history.
At 35 and a half years old, in perhaps his last attempt, he was
the locomotive of an overwhelming National Team that was crowned world champion in Qatar 2022
.
And everything, logically, was happiness.
So much so that 72 hours later, when Messi himself was recovering in Rosario from the celebrations -and from sunstroke- aboard an open-top bus that could never reach the Obelisk due to the overflowing joy of millions of Argentines, the news What began to circulate was that Leo already had an agreement in principle to continue in
Paris Saint-Germain
.
However, in these almost two months, things happened.
And the rumors began to fly through the air to the beat of the
football collapse of PSG
.
It is that Christophe Galtier's team adds five defeats in eleven presentations
in 2023
, plays worse and worse and accumulates three consecutive falls that implied the elimination of the French Cup -at the hands of Olympique de Marseille- and being left on the ropes in the series against Bayern Munich, after the 0-1 draw at the Parc des Princes for the first leg of the round of 16 of the
Champions League
.
And those things that happened in the last 60 days have become
small obstacles
that for now are delaying the negotiations and preventing that agreement in principle from becoming a definitive agreement for Messi to officially extend his stay in the French capital, where he arrived a while ago. a year and a half after being
expelled
, literally, by
the leadership of FC Barcelona, with the president Joan Laporta
at the helm.
Messi regrets after the defeat with Bayern Munich.
Photo: Reuters
The concrete thing is that this Wednesday, after remote or virtual meetings, the first meeting between Jorge Messi and the authorities of Paris Saint Germain
took place
, with the Portuguese manager
Luis Campos
as the main negotiator.
It was a face-to-face meeting, which had been scheduled for a while, in which the first official talks were drawn up to face the renewal of the contract that expires on June 30.
"The story between Lionel Messi and Paris Saint Germain is always written with an ellipsis," warned the French sports newspaper
L'Equipe
in recent hours
, which also warned that
"the extension of the contract seems increasingly problematic
. "
As
Clarín
was able to find out , there were no significant advances in the meeting beyond what he had been talking about.
However, contrary to what was published by L'Equipe and other French media - which never tire of punishing him excessively - this does not mean that the positions have moved away or that differences or problems that are impossible to unlock have arisen.
It was only a step that had to be taken, the first of many.
In fact,
they agreed to keep talking
.
The next face-to-face meeting, most likely, will take place after the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 is played against Bayern Munich, in Germany.
As soon as the conclave ended,
Messi's father took a plane to Barcelona.
But the explanation is simple and has nothing to do with a possible return of Leo to the Blaugrana club.
It is that in the Catalan city is where the main offices of the family business that manages, among other ventures, the Flea race.
There is no chance, for now, that Leo will return to the club where he played most of his career.
It is that beyond some public and politically correct statements by some leaders,
no one from Barcelona called Messi since he said a tearful goodbye to the Camp Nou on August 8, 2021
.
Proof of this was the explosive statements, for which hours later he offered an apology, Matías, one of Leo's brothers, a week ago.
Neymar and Lionel Messi are going to show their faces to the fans after PSG's defeat against Bayern Munich.
Photo: AFP
That is why Messi's plan A, B and C is for the moment to renew his contract with PSG
.
A lot has to do with family.
After a time of adaptation, Leo found a place in Paris where he is calm together with Antonela, his wife, and his children, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.
Each of the members of the inner circle enjoys their stay in the French capital in their own way and that is a harmony that no one intends to break.
On the other hand, beyond all that is said about a "deteriorated dressing room", at PSG they are amazed at Messi's positive influence on the squad.
La Pulga found, beyond Neymar - is he going to Chelsea? -, a group of belonging with the majority of the players.
Campos himself, who had arrived with the mission of disciplining the squad, hinted in private conversations that the permanence of the Argentine, beyond his weight on the field, can serve to amalgamate a squad full of heavy egos, with Kylian Mbappé as another great reference.
The only problem is that the team is far from functioning as such.
And the results are not as expected and the objectives, actually the objective - to win the Champions League - seems to be slipping away again.
So?
Follow or no follow?
PSG's renewal offer is the only one he is hearing at the moment
, although the interest of
Inter Miami, the MLS team owned by Englishman
David Beckham
, is known and real, and the eternal desire to
Newell's Old Boys from Rosario
, now directed by Gabriel Heinze, for getting him to professionally wear the colors of the club where he began to throw his first magic passes.
But those two options, at least these days, seem far away.
In fact, Leo could be negotiating with other clubs, given that he is in the last six months of his contract.
Because of him he is not doing it.
What is being discussed then with PSG?
Although the numbers of the contract always weigh, in this case they are not the most important thing.
The duration of the new link -one or two seasons-, the team's football project -including what may happen in this
Champions League-
and the role of Rosario in the squad are the most important items to define.
It is known that after the coronation in Lusail, Messi wants to continue playing in La
Scaloneta
, already as world champion, and that he needs to continue in high demand to maintain the level of competitiveness.
And that will be what will be discussed or put on the table in the next meeting between Jorge and Campos.
This story will continue...
look also
Neymar, with his hours counted at PSG: he could share a team with an Argentine star
Cameron Norrie, the British man with a Los Pumas tattoo who supported La Scaloneta and dreams of the Argentina Open
