Lionel Messi has spoken for the first time about his “fractured” relationship with a section of Paris Saint-Germain supporters and how he struggled to settle in after moving to the French capital.
In May, Messi was suspended for two weeks following an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia and his return to action had saw him jeered by PSG fans.
The Argentine forward played his final game for PSG in June but was again jeered despite having helped the club secure the Ligue 1 club title for a second season in a row and finishing the campaign with 16 goals and 16 assists.
“I think in the beginning it was something wonderful,” said Messi in an interview with beIN Sports, broadcast on Sunday. “But then some people started to treat me differently, a part of the Paris supporters.
“I think the vast majority still see me and treat me as they did at the beginning, but there was a fracture with a significant group of the Paris fans, which obviously wasn't my intention, far from it.
“It happened just as it had happened before with [Kylian] Mbappe, with Neymar. I know that's the way they behave.
“I'll take away with me the people who respected me, as I always respected everyone since I arrived and that's all.”
Messi signed for PSG in 2019 after 17 seasons at Barcelona but admitted he found the transition “difficult”.
“I came to Paris because I liked the club, because I had friends in the dressing room … it seemed easier for me to adapt rather than another destination I could have gone to,” he said.
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Lionel Messi and his Paris Saint-Germain teammates celebrate with the Ligue 1 trophy after the match against Clermont on June 3, 2023. EPA -
PSG's Lionel Messi alongside Neymar at Parc des Princes. EPA -
Lionel Messi after the match that PSG lost 3-2. AFP -
Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi with their children before the game. AFP -
Lionel Messi attends with his children. AFP -
PSG's Lionel Messi shoots at goal. AFP -
Lionel Messi during the match. AP -
PSG's Lionel Messi surrounded by Clermont players. Reuters -
Clermont's Maxime Gonalons helps Lionel Messi to his feet. AFP -
PSG's Kylian Mbappe scores from the spot. AP -
PSG forward Kylian Mbappe holds up a jersey of teammate Sergio Rico who is in serious condition after a horse-riding accident. AFP -
Sergio Ramos with one of his children. Reuters -
Sergio Ramos lifs the Ligue 1 trophy. EPA -
PSG defender Sergio Ramos celebrates scoring his team's first goal. AFP -
Sergio Ramos celebrates scoring with Kylian Mbappe. AFP
“In reality, it was a very tough adaptation, much harder than I expected … with a new game plan, new teammates, a new city.
“I arrived late, I didn't have a pre-season. The start was difficult for me, my family.”
Messi's first season, during which he scored 11 goals in 34 games for PSG, was made harder after he contracted Covid during the winter break back in Argentina, meaning he was sidelined for a month. “It took me time to refind my physical form,” he added.
During his second season, Messi – who has now agreed to join American MLS side Inter Miami – saw his campaign interrupted by the World Cup where he helped guide Argentina to glory in Qatar, securing the one trophy that had eluded him during an illustrious career.
In winning the World Cup – Argentina's first since 1986 – Messi added to his record seven Ballon d'Or titles, four Champions League titles, one Copa America, 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona and two Ligue 1 crowns with PSG.
“I have nothing left to achieve, I've achieved everything,” he said. “I achieved the most important goal I had, which was to win the World Cup with my national team and it was something extraordinary, the way everything happened.
“I never thought about individual awards and I never gave them more importance than the collective awards.
“To have achieved the objectives with the Argentina national team and to have achieved everything at an individual level, at a team level, for me it is to close an extraordinary career.”
