Messi’s time towards the end of his PSG was a fractured one
Lionel Messi has opened up on his relationship with Paris Saint-Germain fans after signing for Inter Miami.
The 36-year-old left the French champions after his contract expired but the end of his tenure ended in fractious style and the World Cup winner was booed by his own fans during a league game against Clermont last month.
Messi joined PSG in 2021 after failing to secure a new deal at Barcelona, who were unable to offer him a contract as a result of their financial mismanagement off the pitch, and during an interview with beIN Sports, reflected on his decision to move to Paris.
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.
“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 continued: “People started to treat me differently. 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.”
Sergio Busquets is the next high-profile player to join Inter Miami and will link up alongside his former Barcelona teammate in the MLS.
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