PARIS (Reuters) – Paris St. Germain kicked off their Ligue 1 campaign with a 2-1 win over Troyes on Saturday, awaiting the arrival of Lionel Messi, who seemed on his way to join the French soccer squad.
Messi, a six-time Ballon d’Or winner, holds a press conference on Sunday at 1000 GMT after Barcelona said this week that the 34-year-old Argentine will leave the Catalan club.
French daily L’Equipe reported on Friday that Messi would join Paris St Germain after Barcelona president Joan Laporta said the club had been forced to part ways with the footballer because of his high pay, along with strict rules. financial institutions of the Spanish League, could threaten its future.
After the difficult victory over Troyes, PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino remained secretive about the possibility of signing Messi, after stating on Friday that his compatriot was “an option” that was being considered.
“His name is associated with different clubs, there are a lot of rumors,” Pochettino was quoted as saying by L’Equipe.
“We will see what happens in the next few days. The players have remained focused. We did not start the game well and we gave up too many opportunities for my liking.”
“But Troyes must be given credit for making it difficult for us, they showed us a lot of energy. We would have liked to win 5-0 but we accept what we achieved.”
The speculation proved an annoying distraction for PSG early in the game, as Troyes gained an unexpected lead in the 9th minute when Oualid El Hajjam beat goalkeeper Kaylor Navas’s fence with a firm header.
But the visitors counterattacked with Achraf Hakimi’s draw at 19 minutes and Mauro Icardi’s second goal at 21.
(Written by Zoran Milosavljevic; edited in Spanish by Gabriel Burin)