The six-time ballon d’or Lionel Messi signed his two-year contract at PSG, plus an optional extra, on Tuesday 10 August. This Wednesday, August 11 in the morning, the former FC Barcelona player was officially presented at the Parc des Princes on the occasion of a press conference at the summit. Asked when Lionel Messi will play his first game, the football champion replied : “I do not know, to be honest, when I will be able to start. I just came back from vacation, I was arrested for a month. I’ll need some preparation. I hope it will be as soon as possible because I really want to play. But I don’t have a specific date. We’ll see.”Lionel Messi also added the importance for him to regain his sensations. Because his desire to play is intact, as is his will to win the Champions League as he indicated during the press conference: “I grew up footballistically but also as a person. I have a lot of experience, good and bad. But I have the same desire as when I was a child. I love playing football and winning and I will do everything to achieve my goals.”
Ambitions also shared by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president and CEO of PSG : “I am very happy and very proud to present Leo Messi as a PSG player. It is a historic day for the club and the football world. A fantastic time. Everyone knows Leo. He makes football magical and he is a winner. It is very exciting for all fans around the world. It’s amazing. I remember the first day when we started here ten years ago. People were wondering what we were going to do. We are very proud of where we are today.
Short biography of Lionel Messi
Messi is an Argentine international footballer who plays for his trainer club, FC Barcelona. Talented, the striker of the Catalan club has an exceptional record crowned by a Ballon d’or won four times. It was in the team of the Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys that Lionel Messi discovered football. When he is only 12 years old, the young boy shows an abnormally reduced height since he is only 1.11 m. The medical corps detects a hormonal disease that will require the administration of growth hormones. The career of this promising player then depends on the success of the treatment. Unfortunately, therapy is expensive and Lionel Messi’s parents do not have the means to provide for it. In 2000, the Messi family decided to flee an economically bankrupt Argentina and went into exile in Barcelona, Spain.
Lionel Messi is 13 years old and he is invited by FC Barcelona to give it a try. Very quickly detected by Carles Rexach, former footballer of the club, the young striker joins the training center blaugrana. Nicknamed the ‘Pulga’ (the chip) because of his small constitution, Lionel Messi is pursuing medical treatment in order to strengthen himself. In 2004, the player made his first steps in Ligua and soon revealed his talent to the eyes of fans and the general public. Little by little, Lionel Messi established himself as one of the greatest footballers of his generation. His rise is meteoric and does not suffer from any dispute. The footballer’s record is impressive: 4 Champions Leagues, 7 Spanish championships, 3 Spanish cups… and especially 5 Ballons d’or.
Lionel Messi’s wife
Lionel Messi married Antonella Roccuzo, in the summer of 2017. The couple met at the age of 8 and 9 years, in the neighborhood of Rosario, Argentina. While the player had moved to Spain and Barcelona, the girl was studying dietetics at the University of Rosario. Antonella Roccuzo will wait until 2010, to join his lover and formalize their relationship. The couple has 3 children, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.
The track record of Lionel Messi
The playmaker has won everything with his Barcelona club: 10 Spanish league titles, 4 Champions League, 6 Spanish Cup or 3 Club World Cup. The big black point of his career remains a record blank of any trophy with his Argentina selection, except for the 2008 Olympic Games and despite a World Cup final in 2014. At the individual level, Lionel Messi has won six Ballon d’Or, the last in 2019.
Lionel Messi’s salary
Attached to FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi has, several times, extended his contract. The last version of the contract dates back to June 30, 2017. According to information related to Football Leaks, the Argentine would receive the astronomical sum of 100 million euros per season until 2021, when his contract ends. France Football, for its part, estimated in March 2020 Lionel Messi’s earnings over a year at 131 million euros.