Lionel Messi's unhappy PSG spell is over – now he's encouraging Kylian Mbappe to follow him out the door
(Image credit: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi is leaving PSG – but not before telling Kylian Mbappe to do the same thing and taunting Les Parisiens for having a winning culture.
That's according to new reports that say the Argentine legend has no love lost with his former French employers, following his departure from the French capital. Messi has won the title twice in his two seasons in Ligue 1, added the World Cup and looks likely to pick up a second Ballon d'Or to boot – but has faced a tough time since leaving Barcelona two years ago by those lofty GOAT standards.
Paris Saint-Germain fans haven't taken too kindly to the Flea, seeing him as symbolic of the extravagant, glitzy culture surrounding the Qatar-owned club. With Messi now on the way to Inter Miami, however, he isn't feeling in a forgiving mood – and has even gone as far as to tell Kylian Mbappe that he should be thinking about his next move, too…
Lionel Messi told Kylian Mbappe he deserved "a real project" – take that, PSG…
Defensa Central in Spain have made the claim that Messi's parting shot at PSG is to try and tempt Mbappe away, telling him that he deserves better than the French giants.
“I’d rather you go to Barça but, if you want to go to Madrid, do it,” the playmaker reportedly told his French colleague, adding, “You deserve a real project: a winning project.”
Barcelona aren't even linked with Mbappe just yet – so if they do by some miracle circumvent serious FFP laws to bring him in, let us at FFT be the first to suggest that Messi deserves a serious finder's fee for the Frenchman.
Does Kylian Mbappe deserve better than PSG? (Image credit: Getty Images)
The burn is likely to upset PSG though, who fined and suspended Messi for an unscheduled trip to Saudi Arabia towards the end of the season, just before he confirmed he would be leaving the club altogether. Mbappe is now heavily linked with Real Madrid – but his departure appears complicated as the 24-year-old wriggles out of one of the biggest contracts in world football.
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Still, Messi might be pulling punches but he's not exactly wrong. PSG waltzed to a record 11th title this season to pull clear of 10-time champions Saint-Etienne but have crashed out of the last-16 of the Champions League in both of the World Cup winner's seasons in French football.
Lionel Messi hasn't had a fun time in Paris (Image credit: Getty Images)
Since 2017 – the year that both Mbappe and Neymar joined for a combined outlay of almost £400 million – PSG have only made it past the last-16 of Europe's premier competition twice. After reaching the final in Portugal in 2020, manager Thomas Tuchel was sacked from the club mere months later… before going on to defend his title with Chelsea in 2021. Ouch.
Now, the French champions look set for a reset with Neymar looking to be leaving, too. Messi will hook up with David Beckham-owned Inter Miami this season to become arguably the biggest-ever star in Major League Soccer.
He must really be unhappy with Paris Saint-Germain to suggest going to Barcelona's arch-rivals, mind…
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
