Now cruising off to South Beach, Lionel Messi admitted he had a “difficult adaptation” to France and its fans when joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
“Despite having people I knew within the locker room and having a relationship with them, it was difficult to adapt to the brand new change, arriving late and never having a pre-season,” Messi said in an interview with beIN Sports, in response to CNN.
The soccer legend, who just joined MLS club Inter Miami, moved to PSG after 17 seasons with Barcelona.
While Messi, 36, won two league titles with PSG, his real legacy is with FCB.
The Argentine forward is Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 672 goals and won seven Ballon d’Or titles with the squad.
Barcelona cited “financial and structural obstacles” as the rationale the team wasn’t capable of bring Messi back in 2021 before he departed for PSG.
Things didn’t end well with the French club, though.
Messi was suspended for 2 weeks in May because of an “unauthorized” trip he took to Saudi Arabia, reportedly for promotional purposes, and missed a Monday training session.
This will likely have added to the disconnect between Messi and the PSG fanbase.
“People began treating me otherwise, a component of the general public of Paris,” Messi said. “I believe the overwhelming majority proceed to see me and treat me as at the start but there was a disconnect with a big a part of the Paris fans, which obviously was not my intention, removed from it.”
Messi will now put the past behind him as he opens a recent chapter across the pond with Inter Miami.
MLS’ newest star is ready to make his debut on July 21 on Miami’s home turf.
