"Circumstances that I explained did not favor him" - Pochettino speaks about Lionel Messi's first season at PSG
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager Mauricio Pochettino understands why Lionel Messi had an underwhelming first season in the French capital.
The former Tottenham Hotspur manager stated that the transition from Barcelona to PSG was expected to be difficult since Messi spent almost his entire career in Spain.
Speaking in an interview with Europe 1 (via PSGTalk.com), the Argentine tactician was quoted as saying:
“It is clear that Leo’s change from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain has been a change in which an adaptation process and a process where the circumstances that I explained did not favor him being able to feel as comfortable as he has been in a club for 20 years, where he has been the not complete banner of a club like Barcelona. And it is clear that this is unfair if it is judged that way."
However, Pochettino expects much more from Messi next season as he will have one year's experience in Paris. He added:
“I have no doubt that Leo has the quality and he has enough talent to do what he has to do, and he will achieve it. And we hope that next season will be a completely different season for him, with the year of learning that he already had, not only in his professional aspect of changing to a club like Paris Saint-Germain, to a new one, to a new league, new teammates, but also at a family level, we have to take that into account, that it is always a major disorder and that it can affect us.”
A lot more was expected from Lionel Messi at PSG
Lionel Messi joined PSG on a free transfer from Barcelona last summer. However, the transfer did not go down well for the club and the player.
The 34-year-old has failed to replicate his Barcelona form in the French capital this season. As things stand, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored nine goals and provided 13 assists in 31 appearances for the Parisian giants across all competitions.
It is worth mentioning that out of his nine goals, only four have been scored in Ligue 1. However, he did score an outstanding long-range goal against Lens, which secured the Ligue 1 title for PSG.
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Messi has been the creative force of this Paris Saint-Germain side. The Argentine captain has provided a hat-trick of assists twice this season, with the latest one coming against Clermont Foot in a 6-1 win earlier this month.
Lionel Messi does have another year left on his contract and is expected to stay at the Parc des Princes for the 2022-23 season.