Lionel Messi is 'very welcome' at PSG but 'Mr Barcelona' unlikely to move, states Thomas Tuchel
Paris Saint Germain coach Thomas Tuchel stated that Lionel Messi would be very ‘welcome’ in the club, even though he thinks that the Argentine is likely to finish his career with Barcelona. The French side recently lost to Bayern Munich in the final of the Champions League by 1-0 margin.
Even though a couple of years back it looked quite impossible that Lionel Messi would be making a move outside the club where he’s played since the age of 13, but the recent developments have opened up talks regarding the same. The Argentine’s growing differences with the management and recent debacle in the Champions League against Bayern Munich have acted as catalysts. With transfer rumours doing rounds in the market, Messi has been linked with Manchester City and Inter Milan. PSG coach Thomas Tuchel, who guided the French-side to a first-ever Champions League final, stated that Lionel Messi is very ‘welcome’ at the capital, but he thinks that the Argentine will finish his career at Barcelona.
"He's very welcome. What coach says no to Messi?" Tuchel told BT Sport after his side lost 1-0 to Bayern in the Champions League final on Sunday. I think Messi finishes his career in Barcelona. He's Mr Barcelona,” said Thomas Tuchel, after the loss to Bayern Munich in the final of the Champions League.
Paris Saint Germain’s takeover by Qatari owners back in 2011 has seen them amongst the top clubs in Europe ever since. Having won seven Ligue 1 titles in the last decade, the investment was reaping the desired results. They roped in Neymar Jr for a record transfer fee three years back from Barcelona in hope of continental glory, but they fell short in the final, losing to Bayern Munich in the final of the Champions League on Sunday.
Thomas Tuchel is aiming to build a strong team ahead of the new season, with players like Thiago Silva and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting flocking for greener pastures. The manager stated that he would talk over potential targets as he needs a deeper squad to keep up with the demands of the next season and their bid for a maiden Champions League trophy.
“We lost lots of players for this campaign and we lose now Thiago Silva and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. We need to use the transfer window now to make the squad wider. The campaign will be very demanding without any breaks. We need to build a strong squad. We decided not to talk about transfers in this period. We'll sit together in the next days,” added the manager.