Sports

Messi thanks PSG after ‘hard’ Barcelona departure

Paris, Aug 11 (EFE).- Lionel Messi said Wednesday that he is delighted to be joining Paris Saint-Germain and thanked the commitment of PSG to sign him after “a hard exit” from Barcelona.

Messi confirmed on Sunday that he was leaving the Catalans after 21 years at the club, and on Tuesday signed a two-year deal with the French side.

“I am very happy, you all know of my departure from Barcelona, where it was very hard,” Messi told a press conference at Parc des Princes for his official unveiling.

“There are many years, it is difficult to change after so long. As soon as I arrived here the happiness was enormous,” he said.

He also thanked PSG’s owners for their efforts in signing him, because “it was not easy”.

Accompanied by his wife and three children in a packed media room, he cited PSG president, Qatar’s Nasser Al-Khelaifi – who was present alongside him at the press conference – and sporting director, Brazilian Leonardo.

“I appreciate how they treated me, how fast and easy it was in such a short time, because it was very difficult to fix it so fast,” he said.

The 34-year-old Argentine said he is pleased to share a dressing room with the “best in the world” in his position, alluding to his new colleagues Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, among others.

Messi, who left Camp Nou after 17 seasons in Barcelona’s first team, said it was very important to him that Neymar, with whom he has been friends since they played together at Barca (2013-2017), in addition to his compatriots Angel di Maria and Leandro Paredes, were already at PSG.

“That contributed a lot to coming here,” he said.

Related Articles

Back to top button