Was not easy for Lionel Messi last but we will see best version next season, claims Nasser Al-Khelaifi

06/23/2022

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Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has admitted that Lionel Messi did not enjoy the best of times during his inaugural season at the Parc des Princes although he backed the star to replicate his best displays next campaign. The Argentine joined PSG on a free transfer last summer.

Lionel Messi established himself as one of the greatest players of all time at Barcelona as he scored 672 goals in 777 appearances across all competitions. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s 17-year tenure at the Camp Nou came to an end in unceremonious fashion as his boyhood club was not able to offer him fresh terms to stay put at Catalunya.

Barcelona’s financial woes paved the way for PSG to sign the legendary Argentine on a free transfer in last summer’s biggest deal of the transfer window. It hasn’t panned out exactly how Messi must have envisioned his debut season at the French club going as the Argentina international has failed to settle into his new surroundings.

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A series of injuries and inconsistent displays has seen Messi only record 11 goals across all competitions and the French club’s disastrous Champions League campaign has only added more pressure onto the staff and players to have a successful season ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

However, despite that PSG president Al-Khelaifi has praised Messi’s influence in football and insisted that the 34-year-old will recapture his best form next season.

“There is no doubt that Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or a record seven times, and it was not his best season. But after more than 20 years in Barcelona, he discovered a new country, a new city, a new league, a new team. A new culture. As well as his family, and he was injured also by the coronavirus,” the PSG president told Le Parisien.

“It was not easy for Messi last season, but next season we will see the best version of Messi ever,” he added.