The performance, capital letter, delights the Argentinian supporters as much as it leaves those of Paris Saint-Germain skeptical.
On Sunday, Lionel Messi scored five goals in a single game for the Albiceleste.
The minimal stake of this friendly match and the relative level of the opponent, Estonia (110th in the Fifa ranking), somewhat understates this piece of bravery.
But it's still almost as much as in 26 Ligue 1 matches played under the colors of Paris by the "Pulga" (6 achievements).
To be completely honest, we must remember that he also scored five in seven Champions League matches and that eleven of his shots in the league hit the uprights, a jinx rarely seen in L1.
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However, no one can deny that legend Messi's first season in France was a disappointment.
“The truth is that it was a difficult year.
I had to get used to a way of playing that I was not used
to, he himself admitted on Argentine television (TyC Sports).
At PSG, we see football differently.
At Barcelona, where I've played all my life, I had teammates who knew me by heart
.
The context of his arrival, with the watery end of his adventure at Barça and an unexpected change of life for him and his family, did not help either, as did the Covid-19.
“I was hit very hard (by the disease),
he says
.
It left me with scars in my lungs.
I couldn't train.
I spent about a month and a half without even being able to run.
»
In selection, and despite a trying season in the legs and the head, the sevenfold Ballon d'Or therefore appeared much more comfortable and playful, whether during the demonstration against Italy at Wembley (3- 0, no goal but two assists) or against Estonia in Pamplona (5-0).
Without Mbappé and Neymar by his side, the number 10 becomes a ball magnet again, the natural receptacle for the passes of his "compañeros" with whom he triumphed at the Copa America last year.
After this first major trophy which has been denied to him for so long, the Argentine people now dream of seeing him imitate Diego Maradona, next December in Doha, for what will undoubtedly be his last World Cup.
At almost 35 years old (he will celebrate them on June 24), the native of Rosario is already concentrating on this ultimate quest, his absolute priority.
Rather than a source of bitterness, the most optimistic PSG supporters prefer to see it as the harbinger of a Messi found on the road to the World Cup.
He believes in it:
“given what has happened in recent months, I think I can reverse the situation (in Paris).
I know this year is going to be different, I'm already prepared for the rest.
Now I know the club, the city, I'm more comfortable with the locker room.
See you on the weekend of August 6-7 to finally see the real Messi in Ligue 1.
