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Messi: Fallout With PSG Fans, My Story

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Lionel Messi has spoken of a ‘break with the fans’ at the end of his time at Paris Saint-Germain after agreeing to join Inter Miami.

 

After leaving his boyhood club Barcelona in 2021, Messi scored 32 goals across two seasons at the Parc des Princes, winning two Ligue 1 titles.

He failed to bring European success to the side, though as the French giants were eliminated at the round of 16 of the Champions League in 2022 and 2023.

 

That, combined with his role in Argentina’s World Cup final win over France and an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia that saw him suspended for two weeks, meant the fans in Paris never took to Messi in the way they had in Barcelona.

 

The 36-year-old was booed by his own supporters after losing to Clermont in his final PSG game earlier this month.

 

Messi has now reflected on his decision to join the French giants two years ago. In an interview with beIN Sports, he said: ‘I came to Paris because I liked the club, because I had friends and a lot of people I knew in the dressing room, teammates from the national team or some I had been with before.’

 

‘It seemed to me that, beyond what the club was, I was going to have a much easier adaptation than in other teams I could have gone to, so that’s a little bit why I decided to go to the club.’

 

After a tearful goodbye in Barcelona, the forward found his new surroundings trickier than he had anticipated, as he explained: ‘The truth is that it was a very difficult adaptation, much more than I expected.

 

‘Apart from the fact that I had people I knew in the dressing room and I had relations with them, it was complicated to adapt to a new change. I arrived late, I didn’t have a pre-season. I had to adapt to a new city, which was difficult for my family and for me.’

 

Messi’s early struggles in Paris were reflected in his form, as he scored just six league goals in his first season after netting 30 in his last year at Barcelona.

 

Things picked up after the summer as the Argentine legend managed 16 league goals in 2022/23, but some fans were unconvinced.

 

‘People started to treat me differently,’ Messi continued. ‘Part of the PSG crowd, the rest and the majority still treated me as they did at the beginning, but there was a break with the PSG fans.

 

‘It wasn’t my intention, far from it, to generate that break. It also happened with Neymar or [Kylian] Mbappe before.’

 

Messi will now join Miami, who find themselves in need of his talent after slipping to the bottom of the MLS’ Eastern Conference.

 

They have won just five of their opening 17 games, and sacked manager Phil Neville earlier this month.

 

There is another Barca legend joining the club, as Inter announced the signing of Sergio Busquets on Friday.

 

The midfielder played over 700 games for the Catalan giants, and shared a dressing room with Messi for 13 years.

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Iraola: My Fight With Isak Has Never Been About Goals

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Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola says Alexander Isak is a “massive” player for him – but adds he “fights” with the player about needing to do more for the “collective”.

 

Isak scored twice in the opening nine minutes in the 2-0 win over Ipswich to take his tally to three for the season – but Iraola hinted the player needs to do more off the ball for the team.

“He’s a massive player for us,” he told Sky Sports. “My demands will not be about the goals: he’s fit, in a good shape and he will produce the numbers.

“But my fights with him are more about other stuff, how to help the team in other situations. But it’s good he has played two full games and today a good amount of minutes, scoring the goals.”

Iraola did not reveal which specific areas Isak needs to improve, but it could be interpreted that Iraola wants his striker to do more in the pressing.

“I will demand other things so we can play well,” he said in his post-match press conference about those demands to Isak. “And if we play well, we are in good positions, the goals will come.

“He has to contribute to the collective and when everyone helps, after the goals and results will come.”

Iraola also said to Sky: “Today we were much, much better in our press. We were recovering very high and then we can contact him in good positions.

“If we recover the ball lower, it will be more difficult to find him to have less spaces. So we need more quality effort to put our No 9 in situations like he had today.”

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‘It’s So Strong’ – Sabalenka Halts Play Over Cannabis Smell

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Aryna Sabalenka briefly halted her US Open match against Kamilla Rakhimova because of a strong smell of cannabis before cruising into the fourth round in New York.

 

Top seed Sabalenka raised the issue after going 3-0 up in the first set against Uzbekistan’s Rakhimova, telling umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore that “someone is smoking weed”.

The Belarusian asked the umpire to intervene “because it’s so strong”.

Asderaki-Moore spoke to an official on her radio and made a smoking gesture to someone behind her, before play continued.

Two-time defending champion Sabalenka went on to secure a confident 6-3 6-4 victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium as she chases a fifth Grand Slam singles title.

Sabalenka said afterwards she was not sure where the smell of cannabis was coming from but asked fans to be more mindful.

Smoking is not permitted on site at Flushing Meadows but the smell of cannabis sometimes wafts on to court from the nearby Corona Park.

It is legal to smoke it in New York for adults aged 21 and over.

“It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” Sabalenka said.

“I don’t know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium.

“I just hope they’re going to be a bit more aware of that stuff.”

Sabalenka is not the first player at this year’s US Open to complain about the smell of cannabis at Flushing Meadows.

Britain’s Katie Boulter previously said it was distracting, while Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones also noticed the smell.

In past years players including Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have also complained.

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Onana Gets Twins As Salah Welcomes First Son Weeks After Joining Turkish Team

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Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah has welcomed his third child and first son, named Lail, Trabzonspor President Ertuğrul Doğan said after the Turkish club’s third-round league match against Amedspor.

 

Doğan said Salah and his Cameroonian teammate André Onana travelled outside Turkey following the match as their wives were due to give birth.

“After the Amed match, we travelled abroad with Onana and Salah. Onana welcomed twins, while Salah welcomed a baby boy. I congratulate their families and wives,” Doğan was quoted as telling Turkish media.

Salah’s sister, Rabab Salah, later revealed the baby’s name on Instagram, posting a photograph of a baby hat and congratulating her brother on the birth of Lail.

The child is Salah’s first son. The Egyptian star and his wife, Magi, already have two daughters, Makka and Kayan.

Doğan’s comments came after a photograph of Salah and Onana aboard a private jet circulated online, prompting questions among Trabzonspor supporters and local media about the reason for their trip.

The club president said both players had travelled for family reasons following the match.

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