Fans get first glimpse of Messi training as PSG player

Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, Aug 13 (EFE).- Football fans got a first glimpse of Lionel Messi training with his new teammates at Paris Saint-Germain on Friday, an at times jovial affair that demonstrated the newcomer’s quick integration into an already star-studded squad.

Messi, 34, had his first training with the Ligue 1 team on Thursday but the club opened the doors to media on Friday as football fans tune in with keen interest to see how the player, widely regarded as one of the best to ever grace the sport, is getting on with new colleagues like Kylian Mbappe, as well as old ones like Neymar Jr..

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino on Friday confirmed Mbappe would be staying put, following speculation about his future at PSG.

Messi’s arrival will certainly have been a sweetener to keeping the sought-after forward in Paris amid long-standing interest from Real Madrid.

For Messi, international teammates like Leandro Paredes and Ángel Di María are on hand to make him feel at home although he’ll have to strike up a new relationship on the pitch with an old foe, former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who missed training Friday due to ongoing muscle issues.

As well as journalists looking to get a glimpse of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner at work, a small group of fans gathered at the entrance of PSG training ground, some 25km from the city, to see the players arrive.

“We had taken a few days of vacation and it just happened to coincide with Messi’s transfer. If we’re able to see him, it would be amazing,” Rosa González, a Barcelona fan, told Efe.

“For us, he’s the best player in the world.”

PSG have had a busy summer, bringing in Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Georginio Wijnaldum as well as Messi.

The team starts the season, in which it will try to wrest the league title back from Lille, on Saturday against Strasbourg, although Messi is unlikely to be on the team sheet. EFE

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