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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