Flashes of Brilliance and Unfulfilled Promise as Lionel Messi's PSG Stint Ends

Lionel Messi arrived in France to a hero’s welcome, seen as the man who would deliver the Champions League for Paris Saint-Germain.

Two years on, the Argentinian is set to depart without having achieved that aim and having only produced his brilliant best in flashes.

It is difficult to qualify Messi’s time at PSG as a success, even if the move to the French capital helped set him up for the crowning glory of his career at last year’s World Cup and did no harm to the Qatar-owned club as a sporting brand.

At his unveiling in Paris in August 2021, Messi said winning the Champions League for the fifth time in his career was his “dream and that he was in “the ideal place to do it.

That was seductive talk for PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi, sat next to him, and for fans of the club who were desperate to see their team win European football’s greatest prize for the first time.

The previous season they had lost to Manchester City in the semi-finals, having been beaten by Bayern Munich in the 2020 final. Messi looked like the final piece in the jigsaw.