Failing to sign there one day, Lionel Messi, the Argentinian playing master of FC Barcelona, will meet Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG) for the ninth time in his career, Tuesday February 16, in the eighth-final first leg Champions League, in his garden at Camp Nou.
The figures are stubborn and hurt Parisian heads: the Qatari version of PSG remains on three eliminations against Barça in the final stages of European competition. The last, in the round of 16 in March 2017 (6-1 defeat, after a 4-0 success in Paris), even convinced the linguists of Larousse to make room for the Spanish word “remorada” in the 2021 edition of their dictionary.
Almost inseparable on the field, the two clubs have also developed the habit of competing in the field of transfers. After the departure of Neymar (package Tuesday) in August 2017, Barça shouts again at the predator by seeing PSG sniff an opportunity concerning a Lionel Messi taken from a desire for emancipation at 33 years and two decades spent in Barcelona. Unless it is for the Argentine a banal means of pressure to extend his contract on very favorable conditions (74.2 million euros of annual salary).
Leonardo kicked off the match and hostilities on January 19 in France Football. Yes, his PSG is ” seated at the large table of those who follow the file [Messi] from close “, suggested the sports director. At FC Barcelona, in the midst of the electoral campaign to appoint its future president, hitting the PSG then becomes a necessary and promising step for the candidates.
“The behavior of PSG absolutely did not please me. They lacked respect at Barça ”, Joan Laporta quickly replied in an interview with The team. Favorite for the election on March 7, the lawyer and former president (2003-2010) took the opportunity to lecture Parisians: “They still have a lot to learn in the world of football. “
Beaten in advance in the field of symbolic narrative
This condescension shows that the PSG remains perceived from Catalonia as this new rich man, with European ambitions still thwarted, but whose means of State are feared with the financial base conferred by Qatar since 2011. ” PSG have spent a lot of money lately to have a strong team and try to win the Champions League ”, felt compelled to call Barca coach Ronald Koeman back when the draw was announced.
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