Other Ligue 1 coaches were more direct: “It would be good for the French championship. He is the best in the world. I would like him to come because I love the way he plays,” said Niko Kovac, coach of AS Monaco, on Friday night. night.
“For the championship it would be a great blow. Also for PSG. But they are only rumors. In all markets I have heard many names for PSG,” said his counterpart in Nantes, Antoine Kombouaré, former player and former coach of the capital club.
It is true that the rumor of Messi to Paris SG is not recent. A year ago, the sports director of the squad, the Brazilian Leonardo, already tried the signing, without success.
But the situation has changed a lot since then since, unlike last summer, Barça gave up keeping their star, to the annoyance of their players who continue to share their sadness on social networks.
One of them the Dutch Memphis Depay, recently signed from Lyon, who claimed to have a “broken heart”.
The City does not compete
Another important factor is that PSG does not have the competition of Manchester City, one of the very few teams that could be done with the Argentine.
His coach, Pep Guardiola, who managed Messi at Barça, recalled on Friday that “number 10 will be carried by (Jack) Grealish,” the talented English midfielder signed for 117 million euros ($ 139 million) on Thursday.
Therefore, PSG would have a free pass and could join two former opponents such as Messi and Sergio Ramos, former Real Madrid captain who arrived in Paris this summer (boreal).
The presence of Kylian Mbappé would also give this team a fearsome appearance, but the future of the French attacker remains a mystery. Negotiations to renew his contract, which ends in 2022, continue to unfold.
Indeed, PSG could sell their top scorer, who could leave for free within a year, to take over Messi. “Real Madrid is on the prowl”, writes this Saturday the Spanish sports newspaper Brand.
Pochettino nevertheless ruled out this possibility with a firm “no”. PSG is determined to dream big.