Messi returns to Barcelona
Immediately after the victory against Lille, coach Christophe Galtier gave the PSG players a full two-day break and returned to the Camp des Loges training center at 11 a.m. on February 22, Paris time. The French coach wants the players to relax to refresh both physically and mentally after a string of unsuccessful results - losing three of the last four matches.
Taking advantage of this time, Messi, his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and three children have returned to Barcelona. Cadena COPE radio captured the scene of Messi's family present in Barcelona on the evening of February 19. The 35-year-old star returned to Spain for the first time, after winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina.
Messi and his wife are a young couple, knowing each other when they were five years old. Antonella is the cousin of midfielder Lucas Scaglia - Messi's best friend. They dated in 2007, had two children before getting married in 2017. The 34-year-old Argentinian beauty gave birth to a third son in 2018.
A few days ago, Jorge Messi - Messi's father and agent - also returned to Barcelona. Sharing on Diario Sport, he denied negotiating with Barca leaders about the possibility of bringing his son back to Camp Nou to play. The contract of Messi and PSG is only valid until June 2023.
According to French newspaper L'Équipe, PSG is increasingly less confident about the possibility that Messi will agree to an extension. They used to think that there is a 90% chance of reaching an agreement with the Argentina captain when the 2022 World Cup is taking place. But after winning the World Cup, Messi said he had "nothing more important to strive for".
Before Lille yesterday, Messi kicked faintly. He touched the ball 40 times, successfully dribbled twice, shot twice, passed three key passes and lost the ball 13 times.
But Messi shined in the fifth minute of compensation, when the score was 3-3. From a free-kick with a distance of about 25m, the Argentine star finished spinning through the fence and then touched the post into the net, setting a suffocating 4-3 victory. Messi has 16 goals and 14 assists in 27 matches in all competitions, including 11 in Ligue 1 and four in the Champions League.
After the break, Messi and his teammates will play the next match against Marseille in the 25th round of Ligue 1 on February 26. Marseille is the club that won PSG 2-1 in the round of 16 of the French Cup on February 8. This is also the only tournament that Messi has ever attended without being able to win.
After that, PSG will receive Nantes on March 4 and then march to Bayern's field to kick the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League on March 8. In the first leg at Parc des Princes, the Paris club lost 0-1 when Kingsley Coman conceded a goal early in the second half.
